


Caramel Skin Under A Red and Green Cloud

by Ashratherose



Series: Caramel Sundae [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Keith, Bottom Lance, Christmas Time, Epilogue, Having them talks that need to be had, Jorge is Lance's dad, M/M, Miriam is his mum, Santa knows Keith's name and he cries, Smut, Top Keith, because we don't have canon names, drugs past rape torture, please refer to part ones tags, unconventional omega like lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-12-09 05:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 62,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20989436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashratherose/pseuds/Ashratherose
Summary: Direct Epilogue for Caramel Skin Under A Vanilla Sky... Our boys hit up Earth. Set Between parts 1 and 2.AKA: Lance brings Keith home for Christmas. Conversations are had. Keith heals. Lance heals. Not everything is roses, but the scent of gingerbread is pretty sweet. So's his idiot husband.





	1. Chapter 1

Keith wasn't sure if time on Daibazaal moved faster than he remembered, or if it was Lance's presence that seemed to make time fly. Initially, he'd been doubtful of Lance sticking to his word and handing the reins of Kre'el's case over to Shiro. Out of everyone, he understood painfully well what this case had meant to Lance. So when he'd seen Lance rifling though papers in the control room of the Telula, he'd been sure his husband was about to break it to him that all the words that made his heart sore, were just that. Words. Yet, for his sake, Lance organised everything he could for Shiro. He transferred the information he had on each planet that he and Coran had thought plausible to a "liberated" holopad, then gone about meticulously transcribing all his notes to go along with them. As well as his own personal statement over what had happened since he first set foot on the outpost. With Shiro now knowing almost all there was to know, the white lies in the reports were minimal, covering that he could conceive and carry a child. The quintant that Lance passed it all over to Shiro, Keith had very nearly cried. Lance had worked himself to the bone to make sure the report was perfect. Working himself into a panic attack so severe he fainted, then woke up so disoriented that he'd tried to go, Keith, almost the same tick as his eyes opening.

Keith was proud of his boyfriend for trying to stay on Daibazaal for him. There was plenty of work that needed to be done when it came to transcribing prisoner documents and releasing those who'd only committed petty crimes. Lance was still unable to venture through the palace without his mask half up. The scents sometimes so severe that his eyes would water, but not once did he complain about it. Keith had thought things were all going smoothly until a few quintant before they were supposed to head to join Lance's family for Christmas.

Having kept the evidence case under his bed until it was finally time to turn the evidence over to the Blades for processing, Keith hadn't realised Lance had found it. Not until he'd returned from a quintant filled with Blade meetings which Lance wasn't allowed to be privy to... a stupid and pointless call. It wasn't like Lance was going to be leaking information about the secret workings of Daibazaal to anyone. His husband was nervous about returning home, Keith had accidentally overheard him fighting with some family member on his comms, which had set Lance on edge. Assuming the nerves would ebb once they actually made it to Earth, Keith swept it under the rug. Allowing Lance to have his privacy. But that's the thing about hindsight. It was a quiznakking bitch when you saw the picture in full.

Boarding the Telula, Keith had dropped by to say "hi" to everyone in the bridge, thinking Lance would be pouring over plans for Christmas. He'd written up a full plan on dealing with family, something Keith had thought a joke until they were all forced to memorise every plan and strategy, and the bug-out plan on the off chance that quiznak hit the fan. With Lance not there, Keith headed down to their room. Lance's sensitive nose and Keith's instincts didn't want the Cuban man too close to Galra. Lance couldn't control his scent. Keith knew if something happened, he was more likely to attack completely unprovoked, so he'd suggested that they simply sleep on the Telula where the doors could be locked down.

The first sign that something was wrong, was Lance not being in their bed. His boots were near the end of it, the blankets half pulled to the floor, with the hint of coppery-iron in the air that could only be blood. Daehra had been on the bridge, if something had happened to Lance, she would have informed him. Backtracking to their bathroom, he let himself inside. Curled up in the corner for the shower, Lance was crying his eyes out. Blood running down to stain the water pink from his nose, vomit clogging the drain. Not even noticing as Keith turned the freezing cold water off, Keith lifted his boyfriend out the shower when he failed to rouse at Keith clicking his fingers near Lance's ear. As he lifted his lover, a sodden bag of pills spilled to the shower floor. In their wet and mushy state, there was no way to tell how many of the obnoxiously yellow pills Lance had taken... In the tick that followed, Keith had no words for the range of emotions he felt. The happiness he'd allowed into his life was snuffed out in an instant. Lance having betrayed his trust so thoroughly disgusted him. Carrying his boyfriend out the bathroom and to their bed, he wasn't as gentle as he should have been. Hurt that Lance hadn't told him he was struggling with the compulsion to dose himself up. The moment Lance hit the bed, his body began to seize. Panic mode setting in as he bolted to the bridge to retrieve Daehra, the voice in the back of his head yelling at him for his carelessness.

Lance was still seizing when they got back. Dimly he found himself mentally aware of the fact the seizure has already passed the dobosh mark... when the two dobosh mark passed to the three, the seizure finally slowed. Lance's body shaking and twitching as the fit passed. His husband had promised he'd talk to him if the cravings got too much. If his mind got too much. They'd spent that morning running through "forbidden" topics at Lance's family home... He didn't understand how things had gone from shaky to a drugged up mess... Under Daehra's guidance, Lance was moved to the medbay. Keith left unable to do anything but bury his face in his hands and wait until Lance woke up.

He knew him waiting a full four vargas before he woke. Tired blue eyes were quick to form tears. Reaching for Keith's hand, Keith pulled away. All the half-Galra could do was mumble   
"What happened?"  
Pushing himself up to sit, Lance pinched the bridge of his nose   
"It's not what... no. It is..."  
"You swore you were quitting!"  
"I was! I am..."  
"So why did you steal that bag from evidence?! God. Do you have any idea how upset I am right now?! I spent all day in meetings while you were getting high"  
"I threw them up... I... I threw them up. The moment I swallowed I knew it wasn't what I wanted..."  
Like that made anything better  
"You could have died!"  
"I know!"  
"Then why did you do it?!"  
Drawing his knees up, Lance shrunk back against the bed. Daehra had the back of the examination bed raised in case Lance vomited in his sleep  
"I... I..."  
"You what?"  
"I had a breakdown. I wanted to go find you for lunch and I got lost..."  
"That's an excuse"  
"I know..."  
"Then tell me what happened? How long have you had those tablets?!"  
Lance cringed  
"Lance!"  
"A few quintants. I found the case by accident when looking for my socks that Kosmo stole. Before I knew what I was doing, I took them. I didn't know how to return them, so I kept them hidden. It was after Great-Aunt Sara fought with mum..."  
"What fight?"  
"Sara's very religious... She said that if "that gay son of yours doesn't repent his sins, won't be allowed in heaven". I basically started another fight in the family. So when I saw the pills I took them. Then today... I got lost in the palace. Two of the guard tried to help, but one of them sniffed at me while the other grabbed my arm and I lost it. I think... I think I broke the nose of the one who grabbed me. It wasn't even hard... I was back there again with Klearo on top of me and then holding me down... his men telling me how good I feel... and I... I wanted to die... I could feel them on my skin again... but... when I swallowed the pills... I felt so sick with guilt that I made myself throw up... I don't remember what happened after that. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking stupid. Klearo is dead. He's dead... but his voice. I... I could feel him breathing across my neck... I'm stressing so badly about going home... that I don't even know if I should go anymore. I know I want to go... but... I'm so fucking anxious now that it's so close. I want it to perfect... because I want to show off the man I love"

Keith let out a sigh as he sat back in the chair, legs slightly bent and back arched against the cold metal as he stared up at the lights above. This was the first bad relapse Lance had had in a while. He was talking with a therapist, not one of the two Coran had found, but one that was based on Erathus and had been recommended by one of the girls at the club. Therapy wasn't an instant cure, but if Lance had finally found someone to talk to... why... why did this have to happen?  
"Why couldn't you tell me this? You could have sent me a message?"  
"That my family is stupid?"  
"No. Yes. That this woman was being stupid"  
Family had always been hugely important to Lance. That'd pretty much been obvious since day one. If Keith coming home for Christmas as Lance's boyfriend was going to cause issues, then...  
"Because I didn't think it would affect me like it did... and I was so fucking ashamed. I'm still coming off that red stuff..."  
"Would you have told me? If I hadn't found you in the shower?"  
Doey eyes looked into his, sniffling, Lance nodded  
"Tonight... when you came back. Honesty... if I'm not honest I can't get over this. The tick the pills went down my throat... I wanted to call you and tell you what I'd done"  
"You tampered with evidence"  
Lance nodded sadly  
"I know..."  
"And you scared the fuck out of me again"  
"I'm sorry"  
"I wish that this hadn't happened, but you did try to throw it up. You know you've done the wrong thing. You admitted it. Did you take anything else from the case?"  
"No... just the uppers... I wanted to forget him"  
"Anything I say won't be as bad as what you're telling yourself right now. I'm not happy... really not happy. Even if you're ashamed, you need to tell me things like this. There are other ways to deal with it"

The dam broke, Lance dissolving into soft sobs  
"Did you hurt yourself? Other than the pills? Did you cut yourself?"  
"N-no... I... I tried to wash him off my skin... but... I couldn't... couldn't..."  
Lance was working himself too much. Softening his approach, the half-Galra moved from his chair to up to sit on the edge of the bed, gathering Lance up against him  
"You scared me. Your seizure passed after three doboshes. Do you know how bad that is for a seizure?"  
"I'm sorry!"  
"Shhh. Ok. Ok..."  
"I was fucking stupid... I knew that taking them was a bad idea... but I've been on pills for so long now... and we still can't... the red..."  
They'd tried dipping the red uppers in Lance's daily doses again, only for Lance's symptoms to become almost unbearable, especially around the others. Hunk, Shay, and Pidge had stayed around for the first movement after Lance passed the case over, in an attempt to fix bridges... only it wasn't so easy to fix bridges when Lance's arse was being kicked by withdrawal. In the end, for the sake of his mental and physical health, they upped the dose again to the half-strength with the plan to drop it once Christmas had passed and Lance was safely setting up his new outpost venture. Sighing against Lance's hair, his boyfriend smelt pained and exhausted  
"How about I take you back to our room? I need to shower and change, then we can watch something in your holopad for a bit?"  
"You're being too nice to me. I fucked up"  
"I'm being nice too because I love you, and because you were honest. I'm choosing to believe you when you say you were going to tell me you'd taken those pills, so your reward for being honest is rest and cuddles"  
Lance shook his head   
"I don't deserve you. I don't deserve that"  
"As your husband, I'm saying we're having cuddles"  
"You've worked all day... it's not fair on you"  
"It's not fair that when I get home from a full day of Galra bullshit, that I want cuddles from my man?"  
"Cuddles from me... I'm not that good"  
Keeping one arm around Lance's back, Keith slid the other under his boyfriend's legs, lifting him to his chest  
"Trust me. I've been waiting all day to come home to you. The shitfest that Galra politics is... Nope. I'm out. Too many people still want to shoot each other"  
Lance stiffened in his hold, Keith quick to realise why  
"Not that they could. We have blaster jammers in place in the main hall. It's just frustrating that we're trying to transition to peace and people still want to resort to weapons"  
"You're safe there... aren't you?"  
"Yeah, babe. Mum and Kosmo make sure of that. Where is he?"  
"He's not here"  
Kosmo had gotten good at reading Lance's moods before Keith could. Sometimes when it looked to the wolf that Lance was going too far into his own head, Kosmo would take it upon himself to distract Lance with sloppy kisses and yips  
"Then he'll probably be with mum, or Acxa... anyway, you need to rest while I shower"

Careful to lay Lance in bed this time, the bottom sheet was suspiciously fresh, with Daehra's scent lingering in the air. Tucking Lance in, Lance shyly asked for his shirt. Handing him over the thin garment, Lance was like a cat with catnip as he rubbed his face against the shirt in the search of scent. Keith might have done similar with more than one of Lance's shirts before, but there was something so much hotter when Lance was happily sighing up a storm over his scent. Feeling his dick twitch, he scolded himself, practically fleeing the room before it could progress... but fuck if it didn't tickle his pride to have such a cute husband who found safety and satisfaction in something as small as his scent.

*  
Other than the slight bump in the road, and Lance nearly having a panic attack, that he worked himself out of, while they were readying to leave Daibazaal, the trip to Cuba went smoothly. Taking both their ships for the sleeping spaces, Keith's ship was grav hooked to the bottom of Lance's. On the bridge Lucteal, Daehra, Zak and Tobias watched in anticipation as they exited the wormhole and got to lay eyes on Earth for the very first time in their lives. Resisting the urge to smirk at their looks of awe, Keith confirmed their arrival with the Galaxy Garrison and their flight plan to Cuba, Daehra letting out a long gasp as they flew over the complex that had once been their school   
"Yeah. It's pretty impressive now. Most of what you see has been added on since Earth was liberated from the Galra. This is where Lance and I both went to school, with the other Paladins"

Keith hoped that didn't sound too insulting. The complex was much larger than the outcrop of buildings on Daehra's planet, possibly even larger than the cave system her race called home. Having been to Earth before, his team was down in his ship more than likely getting into mischief. Veronica had told Acxa to go ahead, that she'd been working for Christmas, but Keith knew that was a lie due to the fact Shiro had told him that the three of them would swing by on Christmas Day. Shiro and Curtis had other plans with Curtis's family, but Veronica would be staying on until the New Year. Being Acxa, she'd wanted to stay with girlfriend so was slightly confused as to why she'd been sent to Earth with everyone else.

"Keith technically got kicked out after he attacked a teacher and left him half-blind"  
Piping up from the passenger chair to the left, Lance's input wasn't welcome. Shooting his husband a glare, Lance shrugged  
"My whole career there I had to be continually told how I was never any good, and how I failed in comparison to you. I think I'm allowed the jab"  
"Then take the jab at them, not me. It's not my fault they recognised my incredible talent"  
"Yeah, yeah. You don't need to rub it in. What's the ETA on Cuba?"  
"Around... 10 doboshes..."  
"So direct. Don't crash, I'm going to freshen up"  
"Babe, don't you want to see the look on your team's faces?"  
"I do... but that was me trying to covertly say I'm going to give mum the heads up"  
"Oh..."  
"Yeah. Don't crash"

Leaving them in the bridge felt weird. Lance was nervous, but he said he wanted to face his fears. Yet, it kind of felt to Keith like he was running from looking at his family's farm. With the coordinates pre-entered, it was an easy flight. Daehra's face nearly pressed against the window as they flew over the ocean, even Lucteal looked impressed. Zak was trying to ignore it all, talking to Tobias, but Keith was sure that was an act too. If he hadn't wanted to come to Earth, then he could have gone to Erathus with Th'al who was anxious to get back to work. The view of the ocean barely lasted a few moments before they were back over land and Keith's attention was on a vast sea of red. When Lance had planted the junipers in an attempt to call Allura back to him, he hadn't quite pictured the fields after fields surrounding the modest two-story house. The sight was more than breathtaking and frankly verging on intimidating. In front of the house was a large white tent of some sort, with a huge white "X" assumedly painted to indicate landing around the side of the property where the barn wasn't   
"Is this Leandro's home?!"  
"Yeah... but remember, it's Lance while he's here"  
"It's breathtaking..."  
Scars of occupation still littered the grounds near the house. Deep chasms that had been rocky holes when Keith's had left Lance behind, were now bathed green with new life. Still, below them, people were starting to gather at the sight of the ship's shadowing the sky. From down the stairs, Keith heard Lance yelling up   
"Land already! You're scaring the aunties!"  
Rolling his eyes at the thought of Lance's judgmental aunts, Keith lowered his ship down to sit on the "X", then spent the next few ticks finding the system to release the grav hooks. Maybe showing off just a little, he looped the Telula around to show the scale of Lance's farm off, before settling her down on the side closer to the tent  
"Alright. Are we ready?"  
"Yes..."  
Squeaking her reply out, Keith really wished Lance was there to comfort Daehra   
"Don't worry, his mother likes you. From what Lance has said, you're home free"  
"I do worry. I hope his mother likes her gift. I have no idea how to navigate your Earth traditions"  
"Most of the attention should be on Lance, so you have nothing to worry about. Plus, the actual day is in a few days, by then you're going to be a pro at this... and you have your powers. You'll probably understand everything happening around us better than we do"  
"I do hope Lean-Lance has waited for us"

Lance had waited. Standing at the top of the loading ramp, his husband was a ball of nerves practically jumping on Keith as soon as he was in pouncing range. Clinging to his arm, Lance nodded at his team   
"Don't forget, we can leave if something goes wrong. Don't take anything they say too personally, and... Most of all, I want you to know I'm proud of all of you. It doesn't matter what they say, I'm proud to call you my team. Mami's waiting for us in the marquee. She got a bit carried away cooking and organising everything, so don't be overwhelmed at how many people are there and how much food there is"  
Lance's team still looked pretty nervous. Moving his left hand, Keith intertwined his fingers between Lance's   
"You, ready babe?"  
"Yeah..."  
They'd settled on saying they were dating, and letting Lance's immediate family know they'd gotten married. It was more than Keith ever could have hoped for, which was why his heart was racing as cool beads of sweat rolled down his back. Facing a horde of rabid Galra would have been easier, or at least that was how it felt.

Making it down the ramp in one piece, his team was waiting for them in the shadow of the Telula. Acxa looked as if she was ready to faint, summing up Keith's fears perfectly  
"If they can accept me, they can accept you"  
Pursing her lips together, Acxa shifted her weight. In a very "Shiro" move, Lance reached out and patted Acxa's shoulder   
"Seriously. The only family members that matter will be cool with it. Rachel will probably tease you, but she'll save most of that for me. Especially after we tell them we're dating. You've got nothing to be embarrassed over. You make V happy, and that's the main thing. We should head over before Mami comes to get us. Her feet aren't that great, no matter what she says"

Lance was trying so hard to make them all comfortable, despite his anxieties. His husband was adorable in the way he rested his head against Keith's shoulder as they walked over to marquee. Inside were what seemed to be at least three dozen people. Kids were running around playing and screaming. Adults sipping drinks as they gossiped and laughed. All of it cutting to silence the instant Lance led them in...

"Mijo!"

Calling out them, Lance's mother came rushing over. Whispers erupting as some stared at the way Lance was clinging to Keith's arm  
"Let me see my boys! Both of you are so handsome. Lance, you need your hair trimmed now that it's long enough to do something with. And Keith, as handsome as ever. Oh, I'm so happy you're both home for Christmas..."  
Hugging them both tightly, Lance's mother kissed both their cheeks before releasing them and moving back to examine their teams  
"Please excuse this old lady from Cuba. Lance did tell me all your names. Acxa, sweetheart it's wonderful to see you again. I know Veronica is sorry she's not here with you, but you're part of this family now too. And Daehra, and Lucteal... then we have Tobias. Zak, Zethrid and Ezor... right? It's all so wonderful to have you here"  
Lance snorted, he had mentioned his mother had an abundant fondness for Christmas   
"As if you'd forget, mami. Where's papi?"  
"He and Marco will be down shortly. They're breaking apart the ice for the drinks"  
"Ahh... mami, can we talk to you?"  
"Why? What's wrong? Has something happened again?"

Shaking his head Lance moved to try and hide as the savage older woman came up behind his mother  
"What's going on here? Who is this boy our Lance clings too?"  
Keith could see the mental resolve it took not to snap at the woman as Lance's mother turned to face her  
"Sara, this is Lance's..."  
"I'm his friend, Keith"  
Holding out his free hand, the woman openly sniffed at it   
"Right. Well, that's enough of that"  
Letting his hand drop when the wisened woman didn't take it, Lance tugged him back as he moved to stand in front of him   
"This is Keith. Keith is my boyfriend"  
Lance's aunt Sara looked as if she was about to faint as she staggered back from them   
"No... No, did you know?"  
Lance's mother gave a thin smile. The poor woman probably thought she'd have time to ease the great aunt into the idea of Lance loving another man. Keith really didn't understand religion, even before his trip to outer space, but just because he didn't understand it didn't mean that he didn't understand how important it was to others  
"Lance? Our Lance? Running away from home to fight aliens wasn't enough for you? You had to bring... one of them home?"  
"Keith is only half-alien. He's also my boyfriend. We've been together for months now"

Sara dropped her drink, Spanish pouring out her mouth as Lance glared at her. Tugging Lance's hand, Keith felt as if he was ruining the family reunion  
"Babe?"  
"Ignore her"  
"If she doesn't want me here..."  
"Don't want you here! What did you do to our Lance?! He was normal before..."  
Growling, Lance pulled Keith tight. His boyfriend's mum trying to calm the hysterical woman down  
"Babe..."  
"No. This isn't ok. I don't care that you don't speak Spanish, I do and this is unacceptable..."

Clearing his throat, Lance drew the attention from his great aunt Sara. Keith's heart in his throat, knowing that anything was likely to come out of Lance's mouth now that he was annoyed   
"... You're all going to find out eventually, but Keith is my husband. We're married. I know that goes against what some of you believe, but he's been my best friend for years and it kind of just happened. The people with me are our teams. They're all family to me. Now, I know you're all going to gossip, so don't you dare start making trouble for any of our friends. They have saved me and all of us here on Earth more than once. Lisa, are you able to get everyone set up while Keith and I head up to the house?"

One of the women who'd been fussing over the kids shot him a thumbs up... which logically meant that she had to be Lisa. Mumbling something prayer like under her breath, Lance's mother shooed them towards the open flap the marquee with the two other wrinkled bags coming to fuss over Sara. Keith knew he shouldn't think of her that way, being Lance's relation and all, but they had no right prying their noses into something as personal as their relationship... Hold up... Lance just told them all that they were married... They'd gone from thinking they were having Lance home, to knowing Lance was running around with his husband and space... without having told any of them that he was married or having invited them to the wedding ... Oh quiznak... Acxa would call Veronica... if Veronica told Shiro and found out Shiro knew... A shudder of sympathy ran up Keith's spine as they quickly followed Lance's mother.

Stopping a few metres from tents opening, Lance's mother turned to them  
"You shouldn't let her get to you like that, mijo. You know everyone will be talking about you and Keith now. Keith, I'm sorry. Some of the others can be quite narrow-minded..."  
Lance pulled Keith up to him like he was a safety blanket as he tried to interrupt his mother   
"Mami..."  
Lance's mother steamrolled on  
"And married. My goodness... Why did you not tell me?"  
Lance was growing tense, scent starting to change. If Lance could up to his whole family for him, Keith could stand up to Lance's mother  
"I'm sorry. I... ugh... we didn't know we were actually getting married at the time. And now I've shown up here after marrying you son, but I promise I won't let him down or hurt him. He means the world to me, and while we were married by accident, I wouldn't change it. He's amazing. He's smart, and funny, and way too caring... and I love him"  
Lance's mother sighed as she fished her tea towel out her apron, giving it a small flick before wiping her hands  
"Heavens give me strength. I don't know how someone gets married by accident, but if anyone was going to, it was the pair of you. We'd better head up to tell your father before someone else does..."

Staring up towards the farmhouse, Lance held him back as his mother strode on   
"Babe?"  
Shaking his head, Lance sighed   
"Sorry. She made me so mad when she dismissed you like that. Like, she doesn't even know you. She can't just... I was supposed to tell mami and papi about it before everyone else... I quiznakked it all up"  
"You might have gone about it in the wrong order, but you made me feel really happy when you stood up for me"  
"Why wouldn't I stand up for you? I'm your husband and you're the love of my life... we'd better head up. Dios... mami's probably going to have told papi by now..."  
"We can say it was a slip of the tongue... If you want?"  
Lance held him tighter   
"No! No. We decided we would tell them. And I want to say you're my husband... I just didn't expect it to be so soon"  
"They'd probably have caught on eventually. We should head up, I don't want to make a bad impression in front of your rather"  
"Papi... Papi will love you. He's not as loud as mami, but that doesn't mean anything bad. He's worked hard all his life and it's just him"  
"I married you without asking..."  
"You married me without me knowing either. It'll be fine. I'll get to show you the house..."

Lance had shown him the house before. And he'd carried a drunk Lance home more than once after the immediate death of Allura. His husband probably didn't even remember   
"That'd be nice"  
"Yeah. Rachel is in my old room. So we'll have to be stealthy"  
Releasing his hold, Lance took up his hand, striding towards the house as he pulled him along  
"Our stealthy? Or actually stealthy?"  
"There's no air vents, so super stealthy? She hears all"  
"I'll have to remember that"  
"She's also probably going to try and flirt with you..."  
"Flirt with me?"  
Why would anyone be flirting with him? He was just... Keith?  
"Yep. Don't let her suck you in. And don't let her start talking to you. She'll never shut up"  
"What about Marco?"  
"Oh, he's cool. I can picture you two standing there watching the crowd with a drink in your hands, exchanging the occasional "yep" as you do"  
"Babe, are you sure this ok?"  
Turning back to him, Lance shot him a smile that went straight to his heart   
"I've got no idea, but it's all going to be ok if you're here"  
"I've got your back babe"  
"I know"  
Keith really wasn't ready for this... and it definitely wasn't his back that he was worried about.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh... welcome to chapter 2 my loves... *bows like a butler as she gestures to the new chapter*

Lance's mother was sitting at the table when Lance and Keith finally entered the kitchen. His older brother Marco was arranging ice in an esky, while his father was sitting to the left of Lance's mother cutting up an ungodly amount of tomatoes. Clearing his throat, both Lance's parents looked up them   
"Lance!"  
Abandoning the ice at the same time as Lance abandoned his hand, Marco swept Lance up into a hug that would rival one of Hunk's  
"Hey, Marco"  
"Mami told me you were coming home! Look at you! You've gotten even taller"  
Swapping from a hug to a headlock, Marco wrestled with Lance playfully  
"I'm not too sure I have... It's good to see you... argh!"

Screeching, Lance detached from his brother, fishing out an iceblock from down the back of his shirt. Laughing, Lance pegged the ice right in the middle of Marco's forehead. His older brother jerking back in surprise when it hit  
"Will you two stop it! Marco, take the ice outside. Your father and I need to talk to Lance and Keith"  
"Ooooh, someone's in trouble"  
Rolling his eyes, Lance nodded  
"Only slightly more than usual. Where's Rachel?"  
Marco backtracked to heft the esky up onto his shoulder. Keith finding it kind of impressive the man was strong enough to  
"She's around somewhere. What did you do wrong?"  
"No. I did something right for a change. I'm sure you'll hear all about it soon"  
Replying with a sing-song tone, Lance hugged his brother again before moving to throw himself down in the chair next to his father  
"Keith, come sit down already"

Staring at Lance and his parents, Keith didn't move from the doorway. He felt like he was in a twilight zone. Lance's mood had flipped from scared to happy all over again... Cocking his head, his husband raised an eyebrow  
"Babe? Marco needs to get past"  
"I married Lance! I'm sorry we didn't tell you!"  
Groaning, Lance buried his face in his hands. The knife in his father's hand slipping out to fall to the floor, while Marco started laughing  
"Oh my god. Lance, bro... good luck with this one"

Rising from his chair, Lance walked over and grabbed him by the hand, towing him over to the seat he'd been in and pushing him down, before walking around to the table to sit opposite. Marco making himself scarce as Keith bit his lip. Retrieving the knife off the floor, Keith wondered if he should be scared at the way Lance's father was holding it  
"You two got married? You married my son, and didn't think to tell us, ask us, or invite us"  
"Yes?"

Squeaking his reply out, Keith felt sure that the knife in the man's hand was going to come flying at him. Fixing his gaze on Lance, he silently pled for his husband to say something   
"How did this happen?"  
"I... we... uh..."  
English. He just had to speak English, but fuck if it wasn't failing him right now  
"Well, Keith?"  
In Lance's words "oh, Dios...". Lance had said he'd understand. So why did it seem like he wanted to kill him?

Across the table, Lance started to shake before starting to laugh, his mother soon giggling. Placing the knife down, a smile formed on Lance's father's lips  
"You're... messing with me, aren't you?"  
"Maybe a tad"  
Letting out a whoosh of held breath, Keith felt drained. Reaching over, Lance's mother patted her husband's arm  
"Now, dear. Stop interrogating the poor boy. You knew they were dating"  
"You didn't tell me they were married, dear"  
"I didn't know. Our son neglected to tell me about the biggest day of his life"

Turning their gaze to Lance, Lance held his hands up in surrender  
"It was a complete accident. We didn't even know we were married until like two m-weeks later. You see, it all started with this princess..."  
Lance's father groaned  
"It's not like that. We were having dinner with the princess and the Queen of Daehra and Lucteal's homeworld. See, Annla was sold off to this super bad dude..."  
Lance's mother looked at Keith. Keith's mouth twitching into something he hoped was smile like   
"Keith, can you please translate for us? Lance does tend to get carried away"  
"I do not! I'm setting the scene. Babe, help me out here. We were having dinner with the Queen and with Annla. She's like 8 and would give Veronica a run for her money when it comes to being headstrong. She's got the silkiest blue hair... and..."  
"Babe, you're rambling"  
Sighing loudly, Lance glared daggers at him as he slouched down in his chair   
"Fine. You can tell your new parents-in-law. I'll just stay over here"

He hadn't meant to hurt his husband's feelings... He knew Lance was nervous enough about all of this... but he'd just been laughing...  
"I'm not saying don't give them all the details, but maybe a photo of Annla would explain how cute she is better?"  
Shooting up, Lance slammed his hands on the table  
"Did you just say a kid was cute?"  
Reaching a hand up, Keith scratched the back of his head  
"She's alright for a kid"  
"Wow..."

"Boys. Please. I missed seeing my youngest wed. Details. Now"

Slumping back down, Lance sighed  
"Sorry mami. But it's kind of important. Over dinner, we had a few drinks and Annla's the kind of kid you can't say no to. So we agreed to her wanting to show us her favourite place, which turned out to be this yellow cathedral set in a cave. Her people live underground you see..."  
Lance's mother cleared her throat, Lance taking this to mean he should get on with it, Lance promptly launching into near double speed  
"Annla wants to be like a priest to her people, and she said her favourite thing was the union ceremony. Basically, you drink this really awful church wine while standing in this gold circle, repeat some words and offer prayers, add a little spice to it, then when the ceremony is done, she gives you a token to prove its legitimacy. So we had no idea that any royal family member could perform the ceremony. We didn't even know it was a thing until Daehra was talking about it at Shay and Hunk's engagement party. Because we were still trying to work us out, we decided to kind of ignore it and make a joke of being "accidental husbands". Because there was so much to work out and there still is. Anyway. That's basically how we accidentally got married. I love Keith, and Keith's done a lot for me. And I wanted to tell you both together, but then Sara was being mean to Keith, and he's like... the most amazing man ever... and like... so what if we're married? Because it's something we both want for us and I've known him for like 8 years now including at the Garrison... and he's honestly the only reason I'm still alive..."

It was Keith's turn to groan. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he couldn't deny any of that, though Lance had spoken so fast he wasn't sure if his husband's parents understood any of it   
"Babe... too fast"  
"Mami wanted me to hurry up..."  
Raising her hand, Lance's mother was clearly a pro at handling her son  
"It's alright Keith. I understand now. You two didn't plan this at all"  
Keith shook his head, taking a deep breath as he looked to the woman   
"No. And we're sorry we hid it. We wanted to get to a comfortable stage in our relationship and like said, we went through a lot. We didn't think people would be able to keep what we went through separate from something like a wedding"

Lance's parents exchanged a look, his father taking on a more serious expression than Keith was comfortable with  
"Keith, we're not discouraging your relationship with our son. And we will forever be grateful for how you were there after Allura's death. We just need to know if you know about Lance's mental health problems..."  
Did they think Lance wasn't in the right mind to be making choices this big? Or did they think that the wedding only counted because both he and Keith wanted it... He'd never had the sit down with both parents chat before  
"Papi!"  
Lance's father shook his head, looking out of his depth and not sure how to go about things  
"It's not that we aren't happy for both of you..."  
"Papi. Stop. Keith knows"  
"You said you were married by accident. I want Keith to know..."  
To know what? What was with the sudden turn in the conversation  
"No, papi! He knows all of it. Ok. This is why I was worried about coming back. I'm in therapy, ok? I got tortured, Keith turned up. Keith helped me up, we both ended up getting roughed up and then Shiro saved us! I'm not having this turn into how it was when I was home. I'm not letting myself tear this family apart again... Ok... things are different now..."

Lance worried his bottom lip as he looked to his hands, before releasing his lip as he looked up. Internally Keith was cringing at the way Lance nearly yelled about them being hurt  
"I'm doing better. Better than I have been since Allura died. And that's because Keith is with me, and hasn't given up on me"  
Reaching over, Lance's mother took Lance's left hand into hers  
"Lance... You didn't tear the family apart. We didn't know how to help you, mijo. We didn't understand how to get through to you. You shut yourself off from all of us. We all love you. And we all understand it wasn't easy for you. For any of you. You were our precious children sent into space to fight a war you knew nothing about. We were so relieved to know you were alive, then you lost Allura and it was like we lost you too... What your father and I are trying to say is that if you're saying Keith is your husband because you're not confident in your relationship lasting, then perhaps it's better to think of it as dating until everyone else's opinions no longer matter. You're our son, mijo. Our little Lance. Grow together, learn from each other, and most of all, don't close yourself off from each other. We are so proud of you"

Lance grew teary as Keith felt the slight wave of anger he didn't know that had been building slip away. They were worried for both of them, and they were both trying to say they didn't have the answers when it came to how to handle the trauma of them fighting for the universe repeatedly.

"I didn't shut myself off. I didn't know what to do. Everything reminded me of her. I was seeing her all the time. And no matter what I did, she never came back... When you spend so long out there... peace is... peace is scarier than fighting Galra, or whatever else is out there"  
Lance's mother squeezed his hand  
"We're happy to have you home. Both of you. Why don't you show Keith around the farm? Who knows, someday you might even hold a ceremony here with all your friends?"  
Lance nodded, taking the out   
"Thanks, mami. Thanks, papi. I'm... I'm sorry for being so blunt. I love Keith, and I've been nervous about everyone knowing. But for us, our wedding is as real as any. It might have been an accident, but it's kind of very us... Two halves of the same idiot..."  
Keith smiled across at his husband   
"Yeah. I know this is a little late, but I swear I'll do everything I can to be by his side. We're both working hard on things from the past. Lance is in therapy, and I'm starting soon. I don't know if he ever told you, but I was in the foster system and while I was... I met a lot of people going through things Lance has been going through. It's not easy. Sometimes I want to strangle him. But it's kind of mutual... Like he said, we've been called "two halves of the same idiot"... I'm sorry, I'm not good with words like he is"  
Completely off-topic, Lance threw in  
"Keith's amazing with a knife. Honestly, it's kind of scary and hot at the same time. He's also not bad with his hands"  
"Okay boys, that's enough. I'm assuming neither of you needs to have "the talk""  
Lance wrinkled his nose at his mother   
"No. Noooope. No. Ok, Keith and I are going far away now. Don't forget to introduce papi to his new daughter-in-law while you're at it. Acxa is probably feeling lost right now, especially with Keith off with me"

"Acxa? Why does that name sound so familiar"  
Hitting her husband lightly upside the back of the head, Lance's mother scolded the man   
"Acxa is the lovely young Galra girl dating our Veronica. I've told you this more than once. Poor dear. She's probably terrified to mention anything around the aunties"  
Shooting up in his seat, Keith realised something a little late. Bewildered, Lance jerked back from the table and his mother's touch   
"Babe?"  
"We left Zethrid and Ezor there. They're dating... Acxa's bi and Daehra and Lucteal are empaths..."  
"Oh... oh! Sorry, mami, sorry Papi... we'd better go check on our teams..."  
"No, no. Darling. Go ahead. Let Acxa know she's welcome to come up to the house if she needs a break"  
"Thanks! Keith, we should go... but we still want to talk with both of you... about stuff..."  
"That's fine. But don't forget, this is your home. You're home to relax"  
"We will. We'll be back soon"

Heading out the kitchen, Lance was jogging through the house while Keith followed at a slower pace, distracted by the photos on the wall. Most looked damaged, probably from the invasion, but Keith couldn't help but stare. In all of them, Lance looked ridiculously young and uncoordinated. His goofy smile wide as he hung off one of his siblings... but his eyes... in half of them Lance's smile didn't reach his eyes. The thought of Lance's childhood being anything but happy resonated deep inside of him. Lance was determined to make this a Christmas to remember for him and their teams, yet all Keith could think about right then was that he wanted to give his husband the best Christmas of his life. Having come to a stop without meaning, he was jolted from his thoughts by Lance yelling at him to hurry up. Yeah. It was settled. He'd keep his temper no matter what happened, and make their first Christmas as a couple... a married couple, the best of Lance's life.

*  
The marquee had still been standing when they reached it. Both their teams had been saved by Lisa and Marco, and a third guy who could only be Luis. The unusual group had caught the attention of the kids, while the adults seemed warier. Grabbing his hand, Lance was off tugging him along again as they made their way straight over to the group   
"Hey, guys. Please tell me nothing happened while we were gone?"  
"Lance! You never told me you had such charming relatives"  
Daehra was a natural with children, but Nadia and Sylvio both seemed more interested in Lucteal. Zak seemed ready to run, while Tobias was nursing a loaded plate of food  
"Sorry. Lisa did introductions right?"  
Raising her hand, Lisa blended right in with Lance's family... which was a stupid thought given she was Lance's family   
"Lisa is right here, Lance. And yes, I did. Unlike you. Keith, I'm Lisa. I'm married to Luis. Nadia and Sylvio are our children. Our toddler isn't here yet, she had a fever so she's at home with my parents. They'll be here later. Uncle Lance, you're slipping"  
"I'm sorry. How are my babies?"  
"Kaltenecker is perfectly fine. My babies are too. Sylvio has been excited to show his Uncle the scar from where he broke his arm"  
"Oh man, I'm like worst the uncle ever. I had to explain the married thing to mami and papi... She had papi murdering the tomatoes again. We're going to take a tour of the farm, do you want us to take the kids with us?"  
"You can take the kids and leave Keith with us. I think it's time we had a word on his intentions towards our brother"

Keith wasn't sure he could take them messing with him as Lance's father had. He didn't know what he was supposed to call the man. Papi... seemed too intimate... He hadn't even introduced himself to Lance's family... He wasn't going too well at proving himself worthy of Lance. Kissing his cheek, Lance staked his ground   
"You guys leave him alone. He's under mami's protection. So is Acxa. Now, give me my niece and nephew. They can help show me around. It's been so long since I was last home"  
"You're the one who decided to stay in space"  
"Yep. I've got a job and everything out there. Being all responsible"  
Luis and Marco snickered, Lance pouting   
"Come on guys. Really? Rachel is already going to rip me to shreds. Can't you pretend you love your baby brother a little longer?"  
"Nope. That's Keith's job now. Keith, make sure the kids behave. Including that one hanging off your arm"

Glancing down, Keith hadn't realised there was a kid hanging off his arm. The half-Galra's cheeks reddening when he realised the child they meant was Lance. Laughing, Marco shook his head at him  
"You got a good one there"  
Luis following up with   
"For the man who led Earth to victory, he's so much like Lance it's painful. Nadia, Sylvio, come take your uncle's and their friends on a tour of the farm" 

If the ground could open up and swallow him, Keith would be eternally grateful. Releasing his hold, Lance drew himself to full height though failed to look scary or intimidating   
"I'm telling mami. You might be bigger and taller than her, but that won't stop her with her slipper"  
Keith swore Marco shuddered at the thought  
"Yeah. That's right. Sylvio, come show me your new scar. I want to hear all about how it happened"

Letting Lance and the members of both teams move ahead of them, Lance was swept up talking to his niece and nephew about Sylvio breaking his arm. Keith enjoying the gentle way Lance interacted with the children. Though he didn't like the way Allura had gone about changing Lance's body, he could understand why she wanted Lance to have the ability to carry children. He was a natural with them, and they were bringing out Lance's better side. Falling into step beside Acxa, Keith took her by the arm, startling the woman that was like a sister to him  
"Can we talk for a dobosh?"  
Wrinkling her brow, Acxa seemed confused  
"What is it? Did Krolia send a message?"  
"No. I... wanted to know if you're ok?"  
It felt awkward to ask. He wasn't sure if it was the best question to be asking  
"Are you alright?"

Keith couldn't blame Acxa for asking. Sure they talked on Daibazaal but that mostly about work. Here he was, singling her out   
"Yeah. I mean, it's pretty hard knowing that some of Lance's family won't accept our relationship. That's why I wanted to know if you're ok"  
Acxa hung her head  
"I don't know. I don't want Veronica to be hurt, or forced to choose between sides"  
Keith nodded in sympathy   
"I know what you mean. I feel the same way. His parents love both of us, but when we leave, they'll still all be together"  
"Right? I'm starting to feel like I shouldn't have come"  
"No. Lance's mum and dad were super happy to have you here. Especially his mother. His dad... He did the full "what are your intentions with my boy", and scared the quiznak out of me, only for him to be messing around the whole time. I thought he was going to stab me"

Acxa's head shot up in alarm, Keith regretting telling her that instantly   
"You did?"  
"Yeah. But you know, we're practically like brother and sister as is it. And... we both know how hard is to not have a family. That's why I wanted to say that if you need someone to talk to, I'm here"  
"Thanks, Keith... but you've got Lance. I don't even know if Veronica told her family were dating, outside of her mother"  
"Veronica is headstrong and scary. She's not the kind of woman who'd take entering a relationship lightly. She chose you because she wants you. She wanted you to meet her family, and for them to get to know her girlfriend. It's scary as hell though. I feel like fighting a hundred sentries would be less nerve-wracking, but the only way to get over these nerves are to face them"

Acxa remained silent for a few ticks before looking him in the eye  
"Why didn't you tell me you and Lance were wed?"  
Keith shifted uncomfortably. It was a fair question   
"Because we're still working it all out. You saw how nervous he was on Daibazaal. And we had to have that meeting with the guard he accidentally attacked because of his PTS. Kre'el had Galra working for her, and they tortured him. It took phoebs for him to come out of that mentally. He finally admitted he couldn't do it alone and handed over the mission to Shiro after Kre'el passed because he didn't want to be shackled down by the past anymore. We were going to say we were dating, but apparently, Great Aunt Sara said something insulting and Lance wasn't standing for it. I imagine Veronica would be exactly the same when it comes to you. It wasn't personal, and it wasn't because I don't trust you. It was because we both needed to find our feet"  
"Then why aren't you moving in with him and leaving the Blades? If you want to be together so much?"

They'd decided on a decaphoeb. They were both going to transition their jobs over the next decaphoeb and then try living together full time. Keith had tried explaining it, but Ezor called it a "bore"  
"He needs his job, and I still need mine. I was prepared to do that. To walk away. It was him who helped me realise how much I still needed to grow. I feel like right now he's the one who'd be accepted by Black if he came back. He moved on and kept walking, while I feel like I've stalled. I still have things I want to do with you guys, and we'll be based out his outpost between mission. We've been together for so long, but I still don't know all that much about any of you. Not like I should. Lance knows his team inside out. I'm terrible at talking and asking what I want to know. I feel like if you wanted me to know, you'd tell me. But how are you supposed to know what to tell me if I don't ask? I want to be a better team leader, Acxa"

Acxa fell silent again, the pair of them resuming their following of the group. Letting a few long moments pass, Acxa finally replied  
"You're a good team leader. You care a lot for others. You do lack in patience, and you can be quite stubborn over a mission. You like to have things your own way, and act far too recklessly. Or, rather, you did. If you are recognising what you're lacking, then you've started growing. It's different for us Galra. We are taught to banish all weakness from our minds, but I think it's your weaknesses that help you grow. Lance is good for you. I don't know what he's been through, but I do know he's hurting. Yet he tries his hardest not to let it show. That's seen as true strength"  
"I don't feel like I've grown"  
"You have. You are more patient and prepared to listen. This isn't the first time you've asked if I'm alright, but it is the first time in a long time I feel like you're going out of your way to show that you do care. Showing such emotions doesn't come naturally to you, and we don't expect it from you. We know you care... it's just nice to hear it in words"  
Keith shot Acxa a smile  
"I do care. You're practically my sister. You will kind of be my sister when you marry Veronica. So from one half-Galra to another, let's stick together?"  
"It sounds like a plan. Do you really think Veronica's parents like me? I haven't spoken to them much"  
"Yeah. His mum can be fierce, but that's because she loves her kids so much. She wants you to use the house whenever anything gets too much. I haven't talked to his dad all that much. Veronica and I had a small fight over Lance. Rachel gets on my nerves but his older brothers seem nice enough"  
"Veronica told me. She's upset because she can't get through to Lance how much she loves him"  
"He knows she loves him. He just wants her to see him for what he's managed to accomplish... It's kind of scary how much he has accomplished"  
"She was impressed by the work he and Coran put together. She wasn't so impressed over Kre'el. Especially not being allowed to watch Lance speak with her"

Letting out a soft sigh. That was too complicated to go into   
"Basically, he wanted to protect her from listening to how he was tortured. He went through a lot out there, and he didn't want Veronica hurting over what had happened when it wouldn't change anything. When we first reconnected, Veronica was the only person Lance was willingly talking to. Everyone else had turned their backs on him. He believes no one would care if he died, given none of us had talked to him personally in movements. We had a mission, so it'd been a few phoebs since we'd talked properly. I know they're close and I'm hoping Lance will reach out to her now that he's back here"  
"Veronica would like that. Speaking of Kre'el, has Lance decided where to bury her body?"

Lance hadn't wanted to cremate Kre'el. It was too much like Allura for him to be able to handle. Too much like erasing her existence permanently. Kre'el's preserved body was instead in a sealed coffin upon the Telula. Keith having been the one to make the call to Lance's parents because Lance had started shaking too hard to hold the comms. With his boyfriend in his lap, Keith had explained that a friend had died and they'd like to bury her on Earth. Sympathetically Lance's mother had agreed. Lance wanted to bury Kre'el on some hill on the property, but that was another day's job. Lance had admitted to him that he wasn't mentally up for returning to Earth and burying his ex-friend on the same day. Which Keith took as progress. Talking wasn't always easy, but Lance was getting better acknowledging he couldn't do everything at once... despite how much he may wish to

"I'm not sure where he wants to buy her yet. He's still grieving her in his own way. This whole thing has been harder than I could have imagined. She was simply protesting the lions, and then she ended up running an organ farm. I don't know how that happens. We decided to bury her tomorrow, so she'll be resting before Christmas"  
"If you need any help, we'll be happy to help"  
Keith nodded because without being led by Lance, he wasn't sure what to do   
"We won't be offended if Lance feels he needs to do this alone. He has a tenacious spirit. We always thought him the weakest of the Paladins. That's why Lotor wanted to segregate him and found him lacking..."

They rarely talked about Lotor anymore. Keith's expression turning to disgust at his name   
"Lotor found him lacking?"  
"He was frustrated that Lance liked Allura, and that Lance kept his distance. He was annoyed that he couldn't win him over, so constantly sought out small ways to push him further from the group"  
"You didn't tell me this"  
Acxa kicked at the ground with the toe of her boot  
"I wasn't proud of what we did while following him"  
"Lance didn't have the best time on the castle. Not with Kuron"  
"No. Physical and verbal violence was what Lotor reported. Still, Lance tried his hardest to keep the peace. Lotor reported how Lance would regularly wander past your old chambers, though how much of those reports were a cover for the time he was spending with Allura, is open for speculation"  
"Sometimes I wonder if it'd be better to seek out another space whale and spend two years on it with Lance. Or if connecting the pair of us to an Altean mind meld machine would finally give me the answers on how to help him better"  
"I wonder too. About connecting with Veronica. There are things that are hard to explain, and things from Earth that I don't know"  
"You can ask me. About things on Earth, or Lance. He'd be happy to answer"  
"I want Veronica to explain, but she apologised and changes the topic"  
Keith filed that information away for when he'd finally get to that talk with Veronica  
"Lance does that too. They have no idea how frustrating it is"  
Acxa let out a giggle   
"No. They don't. We do certainly choose tough people to love"  
"Yeah... That's what makes it worth it. I'm sorry if I end up being distracted by Lance. He wants us all to have the best Christmas ever, but I want to make it extra special for him. He wrote up these plans on how to survive Christmas and everything. It makes me want to want to burn them and run away"  
Acxa let out a soft sigh, deflating at Keith's joke   
"At least Lance is here. Veronica is working. How am I supposed to celebrate without her?"  
Acting on what he'd do for Lance, Keith gave Acxa an awkward one arm hug that lasted for a few very awkward ticks  
"You have all of us. It's not the same, but in a weird way that only makes sense to us, we're all family"  
"This is true. Thank you for being my brother"  
"And thank you for being my sister... You were the second one I had, Pidge would shoot me if I didn't say her first. But you're like the first legal one"  
Acxa giggled as she perked back up  
"This new Keith is going to take some time to get used to. I think I'm going to be good friends with him"  
"Keep this up and I'll make Kosmo come find you after he finds something dead to roll in"  
Acxa scrunched her nose up  
"Nope. You're the same old Keith. As mean as always. At least your husband is nice. I'm going to go talk to him"

Ahead of them the kids, and Lance had led them up to a pigpen. Lance talking excitedly as he held a less than impressed pig for Lucteal to stroke  
"Don't let it bite you. Pigs eat people too"  
Acxa looked mortified, exactly what Keith was going for. What was the point of having siblings if you could tease them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it feels weird not having a last name for Lance, or first names for his parents... Thanks VLD :/


	3. Chapter 3

Standing at the counter in his bathroom, Lance was trying to fight against the rising panic attack by forcing down deep breaths. Only, it wasn't working. He'd been in there the better part of half a varga... No. They were on Earth... so it was closer to... closer to... he couldn't think... Shit... Hitting the panel next to the door clumsily, Lance staggered from the bathroom towards his and Keith's room on the Telula. After the initial excitement? of him putting his foot in and announcing to everyone that he and Keith were married, the afternoon felt lighter with that out the way. He'd been able to enjoy showing all the animals on the farm to his team, and chasing Cosmo away from the chickens who'd been squawking in fear as the dopey animal tried to play with them. Lucky for the wolf, he hadn't killed any of them, or he'd be being served for dinner on Christmas Day instead. Dinner had been a little tense with his whole family staring at him like he'd committed some grave sin for sitting with his team and Keith's on a whole other table to avoid listening to the aunts continuing to judge Keith. Keith wasn't any of the words they'd thrown his way. He hadn't corrupted him. He hadn't led him astray. He wasn't anything other than his best friend and the man loved fiercely. Not all of the aunties felt the same, their husbands quiet in the argument because they'd know no peace if they butted in, it was just... Great Aunt Sara was his grandfather's older sister or something like that, and being the oldest held considerable sway with the rest of them. She had also lived to make his mother's life a living hell if a single hair or speck of dirt was out of place on them in church. He was still scared of her. Standing up for Keith in front of her was the first time he'd ever talked back to his aunt in his life, but Keith was more to him than she could ever know. If she'd insulted him, he could have taken it, but go after his husband and he was liable to lose his head.

Letting himself into their bedroom, Lance nearly tripped over his feet on the way to their bed. He'd told Keith to keep sleeping because he was intending on taking a shower. Knowing that today was the day they were burying Kre'el, his husband didn't push to shower with him, understanding he needed space. Sinking down on Keith's side of the bed, he shook his lover out of his dozing state. Sleepy purple eyes blinking at him with an adorable formed on Keith's lips. Rather, it would have been adorable if he could breathe  
"Shit... I've got you, baby"  
Pulled down into Keith's lap, Keith placed Lance's hand on his chest before covering it with his own. His other hand moving to cup Lance's face   
"Feel me breathing? Breathe with me babe... you're ok... in with me... and out..."

It was exactly what he'd been doing in the bathroom. In through his nose, holding and letting it slowly out through his mouth. So why was it when Keith was there, he managed to do as he was told. His heart was pounding, his body tense, his chest felt like it was filled with thorns, but the way Keith was looking at him... He could finally get his lungs to listen. He could finally find his breath  
"So good, babe. So good. Just like that... I've got you"  
Nodding, Lance sucked down another breath, feeling Keith's soft skin beneath his hand. So soft and warm. So real. His heart beating strongly... God... Keith was alright... He was alright... He wasn't burying Keith... 

Letting out a choked mewing noise, Keith pulled him up to hide his face his neck. Hand moving to rub against Lance's neck  
"Shhh... you're ok... you're ok, my love..."  
"Sorry. It came... out of nowhere"  
"No. It's ok... you're ok"  
Continuing to breathe in and release while talking slowed his sentences   
"Couldn't calm down"  
"Don't be sorry. You're ok, now"  
"Ok" was open for interpretation. He'd expected one the previous night when everyone wanted to talk about him. Not when he was taking a shower and blood had dripped onto his foot after blowing his nose   
"Yeah... yeah... Sorry for waking you up"  
"Babe, it's fine. Do you want to cuddle for a bit?"  
Nodding, Keith kissed his hair   
"Ok, hold onto me"

As romantic as it was that Keith didn't want to tip him from his lap, his husband narrowly avoided a knee to the groin as they tried to arrange themselves, before ending up with Lance half laying across Keith's chest. Sighing as he rubbed his cheek against Keith's smooth skin, Lance weakly gripped at his boyfriend's right hand with his left one. His face felt all tingly, especially his lips. His mind was spacey, unable to focus on much at all. Reaching up with his left hand, Keith ruffled his hair. Lance flinching at the unexpected feeling, his anxieties deciding to be quiznakking annoying when all he wanted to do was enjoy Keith's hold  
"What happened?"  
"Blood nose... When I saw the blood I thought about you and I was thinking about burying Kre'el and then it kind of merged... I tried breathing through it, but couldn't calm down"  
"It's alright. I'm alright"  
Lance cast a glare in Keith's direction feeling slightly patronised, head turned so his chin was digging into Keith. It was stupid. Ridiculously stupid  
"It's stupid"  
"Babe..."

Lance's anger flared, he didn't know what he was feeling angry for. The Cuban's voice oozed bitterness as he betrayed his words by settling back against his husband   
"I was supposed to be doing better. We've been here overnight and I've had a stupid attack already. What if something bad actually happens? What am I going to do then?! What happens if I freak out in front of the kids? I scared them so badly before... I made them cry... they... they wouldn't leave me alone with the kids in case I had a flashback or an episode... I don't want to... I don't want to be like that with them. I don't care if they don't remember, I do..."  
His sore chest was growing tight again. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and forced himself to mentally count to six before releasing it. Moving his free hand to curve of his lower back, Keith dragged his fingertips across the exposed skin causing goosebumps to erupt across his flesh  
"Babe... shhh. I think you're so scared that something is going to happen, that you're stressing yourself out. We talked about this on Daibazaal, about recognising your triggers"  
"It came out of nowhere. The hot water upset my sinuses after I blew my nose"  
"It came out of you thinking about the funeral today. You've made so much progress"  
"I relapsed barely two movements ago. I nearly had an attack yesterday and I did this morning..."  
"You're scared. But I'm here for you. And so is everyone else. You won't be alone unless you ask to be alone"  
"Isn't that like babysitting?"  
"No. Our teams aren't from Earth, remember. It's you sharing Earth with them"  
"I still feel... it's been one freaking day and I feel like I'm slipping back to who I used to be after Allura died"  
"You're not. I promise you're not"  
Exhausted, Lance could feel himself drooling slightly onto Keith but didn't have the effort to move   
"How do you know?"  
"Because you're letting us help you. Allura's death left you so shaken, you didn't know how to let us in. Now you have, and now you have someone who doesn't judge you"  
"I feel like you should. Dios... it was so much easier when Red was in my head. He... he would ease everything, and knew everything going on in there. When he left, I didn't know how to cope with the loneliness. He was my last connection to Allura and then he was gone too. I handed my bayard over because I didn't want to remember... I don't want to fall back into drinking all the time to feel nothing"  
"You're not going to"  
"You don't know that. Papi even brought up my mental health in front of you. I was... drinking so much... and popping all the painkillers I could get because I felt so cold and wrong in my body"  
"Do you still feel wrong?"

Lance yawned, before trying to think of his answer. Keith stopping the movements of his fingertips to place his hand flat  
"Babe?"  
"I do. And I don't. Some days I want to claw my skin off, and some days I find myself forgetting that this body is weird. I don't know if I love my body, or if I'm proud of it anymore, but I'm like... trying to be ok with it. I think coming off of Daibazaal is the wrong time to ask"  
Lance didn't know if that sentence made any sense to Keith. He hoped it would. He was too drained to backtrack and do the "think"  
"You know I love you, don't you? And that this body of yours doesn't disgust me"  
"I know... can we cuddle now? I can't keep up with talking"  
"Of course we can. It's better when you're here to cuddle"  
His husband was a goddamn cuddly octopus and Lance wasn't going to complain once about it. 

Lance was starting to doze off when his nose started bleeding again, Keith reaching over the edge of the bed to retrieve his shirt to press against the slow bleed. Though Keith had branched out into more than just a plain black t-shirt, Lance wasn't happy that he was bleeding onto his husband's shirt, black or not. He'd been so close to napping... too close. Farm chores didn't wait for everyone to be functional humans  
"We have tissues for this reason"  
"Too far"  
The tissues were on his bedside table instead of Keith's, but he still could have reached them, they were pretty much in the middle of the bed. He didn't have enough brainpower to debate these facts, it was redirecting to Kre'el. Pigs. Chickens. Goats. Hover-trolley and shovels   
"Ok. You should get up and shower. We need to head to the barn, check the animals and grab the hover-trolley... I'm going to deal with this..."  
"Babe, you're still exhausted"  
"I know. But the day won't wait just because it had a lousy start"  
"Other than your panic attack, it hasn't been a lousy morning. Early morning cuddles, more napping, cuddles with a very naked boyfriend who seems to have forgotten he's naked"  
Squeezing his arse to drive home how naked he was, Keith shot him a smirk. Lance blushing over the fact his junk was rubbing against his husband's hip the whole time   
"Why didn't you tell me...?"  
"Because it's just you and me. And you're beautiful"  
"You're so lame. Cool Keith would never say this"  
"Cool Keith is whipped. Cooler, older, more grizzled"  
Groaning, Lance rolled off Keith, reaching for the tissues as he did. You compliment a guy in confusion once, then he brushes you off, and teases you for the rest of your life over it  
"Nope. There he is. I told mami we'd check the animals. We're late as it is"

*  
Lance felt like his eyes were filled with sand as he resisted the urge to give up on feeding the animals. They'd stayed in bed too long, the cows uncomfortable from not being milked. Kalternecker going out of her way to repeatedly head butt at him until he was forced to send his team off to pick up the slack under Keith's guidance. Lance could have set the milking machine up, but kind of wanted to spend a little time with his prized girl. Lucteal and Daehra were sent to feed the chickens. Being new to the farming lifestyle, the novelty of all the animals had Daehra taking photos of everything, most probably to send to Annla. Lucteal, on the other hand, was more cautious. He seemed to have developed a phobia of pigs overnight, despite having happily patted one of the young sows the day before. Their family farm was one of the few in the area with government approval to breed. The fact they even had surviving farm animals was a miracle. Leaving the pigs and goats to Keith. His family farm might be predominantly Altean juniper berries, and despite the fact that he'd planted probably half of them on his own, he preferred the animals. There was nothing quite like Earth animals out there.

Filling two pails three-quarters full, the animals were all taken care of by the time he'd finished milking Kalternecker. Setting up the milking machine for the rest the herd, Lance was careful as he carried the pails to join the others near the chickens. Keith had pulled the hover-trolley out from behind the barn, leaning against it as if he'd been farming all his life. Unlike him, Keith made for a hot farmer. Sweat on his brow and a relaxed smile playing on his lips, which only grew as Lance approached   
"Hey, babe. Everything alright?"  
Lifting the pails, Lance nodded  
"Yep. I just need to take these up to the house"  
"You're the boss here. What do you want us to do next?"  
"Have you guys had breakfast?"  
Daehra flashed him a happy smile, then went right back at staring at the chickens again  
"We ate while you and Keith slept. Earth has such odd hours"  
"Ok. Why don't you guys head back to ship? I'm going to drop these off then I'll meet you there?"  
Dropping milk off was no big worry. It wasn't like he hadn't done it a hundred times before. Pushing off the hover-trolley, Keith moved over to kiss his cheek  
"Are you sure you don't want a hand?"  
"Nah, I've got this. I was thinking we could head to town this afternoon? So maybe call Acxa and let her know? I've got some GAC in the main armoury, and I want to pick up small presents for everyone. I know mami would have made sure we all have gifts, and I've got your gift, but I want to..."  
"Babe, I get it. You didn't need to get me a gift"  
"What kind of husband would I be if I didn't. I'll be ok. I kind of want to talk to my mum anyway"  
"You sure?"  
Was he sure about talking to his mother? Nope. Did it need to be done? Yep  
"Yeah. I'll see you soon"  
"Take your time. If you need me, I've got my comms"  
"I know. Now go call your team and eat. I think I can find my way around my own family's farm"  
Keith gave him a playful swat  
"I don't know. We're both hopeless with directions"  
"Don't go lumping me in with you. Now hurry up. If papi catches us, he's going to have us doing all kind of jobs that I really don't want to do"  
"Oh, you're playing hooky?"  
"Keith. Babe. Love of my life. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to you saying words like "hooky""  
"It's still not as bad as "hinky""  
"Hinky is a perfectly legitimate word. Now take that hot farming arse of yours and go away. You already stole all my attention this morning"  
Kissing his cheek again, Keith was off, walking his fine arse back to the hover-trolley. The jeans he had on were criminal... and with how form-fitting they were, they were probably his instead... or were his. He could watch Keith in those jeans all damn day.

Carrying the pails into the kitchen, it was already chaos. Rachel was playing with her phone, Marco was feeding his face and his father was hidden behind a newspaper. Placing the pails on the sink beside his mother, his mother took her hands out the sinks and flicked the bubbles off before wiping her hands on her tea towel. Knowing the routine, Lance leaned down for his mother to kiss his cheek   
"Thank you, mijo. I didn't know if you were awake yet"  
"Sorry mami, we went straight down to the animals. They don't really have animals on Daehra's planet so she's taking photos for her little sister"

Throwing her spoon down in her bowl with a clatter, Lance flinched at the sound as Rachel snarked  
"Yay for them. It's nice to know you don't have time for your own family because you're so busy with them"  
"Rachel! Your brother has only arrived home yesterday, give him some space"  
"Space. He's too busy in space for us. He hasn't even called us since being you came home"  
"He called in with me. Stop giving your brother a hard time. He's been through a lot"  
"He's always been through a lot. I'm going out. I'll be home for dinner"  
"I need you here..."  
"You have Lance and his team. Forget it, mami. I've got things to do"  
He didn't need this right now. Rachel had ignored him most of the previous night, and he'd stupidly thought that it was just their sibling rivalry   
"Rachel..."  
"Save it, Lance"

Leaving Lance standing there, tears gathered in his eyes. He was so sick of fighting   
"Mijo... she doesn't mean it. She's been worried about you"  
"I know... but it... I wasn't in a good place to talk. There was still a lot happening..."  
"Your friend? The one you're going to bury?"  
"There's that..."  
His mother wiped his wet eyes, her smile soft and kind  
"... there's some other stuff I want to tell you. Can we sit down?"  
"Jorge, put your paper down. Lance needs to talk to us"

His father went about folding his paper up as Lance's mother ushered him to sit between the two of them. First thing first was removing his gloves. Keith was the only one he was comfortable enough to show his hand. His mother knew what had happened, but he couldn't remember if he'd showed her. If he was going to face his demons, he needed to be honest.

Placing both hands down on the table, Lance stared at his mottled hand. He still really hated it  
"Oh, mijo..."  
"It's not as bad as it looks. The pod healed the... healed where they crushed my hand. They took my finger because they wanted a sample of my bone..."  
Letting out a shaky breath, he didn't want to burden his family, but he also didn't want to keep hiding   
"I want to tell you most of it... I do... but I'm still working on it. When you brought up what happened last time I was home... it hurt. I didn't... I couldn't deal with things properly. It wasn't good. I... we were both tortured. Keith was hurt too. They messed with his wrist but it healed..."  
Hushing him, his mother pulled him into her hold  
"My baby... you don't have to force yourself"  
"I... I need to tell you things. I need to... tell you what it was like for me when I was home. I knew you all wanted to help, but the things we've seen and done... I've killed people, mami. Killed dozens of people. Not just bad Galra... the people we couldn't save... bad people... and I died. Allura was going to die, so I threw myself in the way and took the blast. She used her powers to bring me back... but... I think... I felt like I came back wrong. No one knew it happened... I didn't know they didn't know, I thought they just didn't care... that's when the nightmares started again. I was in the astral plain... running and running in this thick blackness with no one there. I've been so cold ever since, like I'm... like I'm dead and alive at the same time... but... but losing Allura... She chose to die over being with me. I know she had to, and I would have made the same choice... but... it... it was too much for me. I kept seeing her. All-day, every day... always there even when I didn't want her... I wanted her to come back.. and... it was like she was mocking me"

Lance shook his head  
"I just wanted to feel alive. I didn't want to keep scaring everyone. I didn't want to keep tearing our family apart. I saw how you all looked at me. I was practically a stranger... and I couldn't let you in. It... you guys went through hell when the Galra were here... I wanted to keep it inside because... I love you all so much. When I got that job on Erathus, I thought I'd be happy. But things went to shit and the guy I was working for was evil. He wanted the red lion at any cost... I... I have brain damage and a phobia of large bodies of water because of him... to go with the PTS and depression... and panic attacks... I wasn't doing... I wasn't coping properly. Not until Keith came along. He needed help and wouldn't leave me alone... I accidentally let slip what happened to him, and he got so... he was so mad for me. He's been so good, mami. So good. And so understanding... I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. I didn't want you to be ashamed of me"

"Mijo... you're our precious son. You're always going to be my precious son. Your father and I aren't ashamed of you. We're proud. So proud. Nothing you tell us will change that, right Jorge?"  
Lance's father wasn't a huge hugger, but getting out his chair, he wrapped his arms around Lance   
"You are our boy. We're proud of you, no matter where you are"  
"Thank... thank you... I'm so sorry I messed up... I'm sorry... I'm doing better... I have a therapist, and Coran... and my team... and Shiro... and Keith. I couldn't have made it without Keith. I... my friend who died, she was the one behind everything that happened to me. She... was Altean. She... I didn't want to come home so soon, but she was a mum. She was caught up in this ridiculous war... the way she talked about her daughter... I wanted to come home and be with both of you. She... might have done some horrible things, but I think in her heart she was just hurting..."  
Hushing him, his mother had been repeating "oh, mijo" softly as she spoke. Tilting his face up, he pressed a kiss to forehead with that ever infinite loving smile of hers  
"Mijo, I don't understand but I trust you know what you're doing. I went to town this morning. There are flowers for your friend and for Allura in the living room. Don't worry about the chores this afternoon"

Lance's father released him to sit back down. His mother kissing the top of his head before releasing him, letting Lance wipe his face dry  
"Is this Keith of yours any good with mechanics?"  
Snorting, Lance nodded. His mother glaring at his father who simply shrugged   
"He lived in a shack alone for a year. I'm sure he knows a thing or two. I want to take our teams into town after we bury Kre'el. Is that ok, mami?"  
"Of course it is. This is your home, mijo. You know that, don't you?"  
He didn't use to, but now he felt like maybe he belonged there more than he had in the last two years   
"Yeah, I'm home... there still so much I want to talk to you about, but I should head back to my team. Keith worries way too much"  
"He's a good boy. He wasn't scared off too much by the family, was he?"  
"No... no, he took it better than I did. Probably because he doesn't know Spanish... I'm sorry for causing trouble, but I'm serious about Keith. We've... brought an outpost... and we're going to transition out of our current jobs to make this work... I love him, mami. I loved him before I even started dating Allura..."  
"Make sure he knows he can come talk to us about anything. I'd love to talk to him some more. He's such a sensitive young man"  
"He used to be the angriest little emo you've met. I never thought he could be this soft... I still get scared I'll wake up and he'll be gone. I have no idea what he sees in me"  
"He sees you. Now off with you. I still have cooking to do. Make sure your teams know to come for dinner"  
"I will, mami. I love you. And I love you too, papi"  
Catching his arm as Lance rose, his father held it firmly  
"Your mother is right. We love you, and we're proud of you. We don't understand what you went through, but we love you"  
Lance pulled his dad into an awkward hug lasting for a few ticks before pulling away  
"Thanks, papi. I'll talk to Keith about helping with things. I think he's slightly scared of you"  
"Smart lad. Well, he's part of the family now, he's got a lot to get used to"  
"I know... He lost his father at a young age... He's kind of awkward and doesn't think he's that great with words, but if you give him a job, he'll make sure he does it properly... He's also really strong, he's got those Galra genes"  
"Lance, you're giving your father all these ideas. Rest. Enjoy your time here. It'll fly by before you know it"

*  
"You've been crying"  
Jumping out of his skin, Lance clutched his chest. One tick he'd been walking up the ramp to the Telula, the next Keith was scaring the quiznak out of him as he held Kosmo back   
"Dios, Keith! Warn a guy. I was a million miles away"  
"I noticed. Kosmo's been looking for you. He destroyed our in his hunt"  
Kneeling down, Lance held his arms open, looking slightly stupid with two large bunches of flowers in his hands. Releasing the wolf, he charged right to Lance   
"My puppa! I'm sorry. I was talking to my parents"  
Nuzzling into Kosmo's fur, Lance enjoyed the feeling   
"How did it go?"  
"We kind of talked... I started to talk. It's a lot for them, so I'm going to take it slow. But it was good... it was things I should have said before. I'm sure they have questions, but... yeah, it was a start. Papi's already got you lined up to help him tinker with the tractor..."

Realising Kosmo, Lance gave him one last pat before walking over and placing the flowers down on one of the cargo boxes. Coming up behind him, Keith looped his arms around Lance's waist   
"You did good, babe. Do you want to me about it?"  
"No... I mean, it was just... my hand and... mostly telling them about the brain damage. We don't really know what it's about... my sense of time is messed up, and sometimes I can't put things together... so it's not as bad as it could be... Mami gave me flowers for Kre'el and Allura"  
"We're ready to go when you are. Or I could come up there alone with you?"  
"I don't really want to ruin this for the others. We... we'll bury her alone, then I'll take them up there later. Today's been emotionally fucked up... so I don't know how I'm going to react when she's finally gone"  
"Ok. It's your call. My team's going to come to town with us. Acxa's still feeling weird about dating Veronica without her being here"  
"I don't want that. I want her to be happy... maybe I'll talk to her this afternoon... or maybe we should just ruin the surprise and tell her that Veronica will be here"  
"It's only a few more quintants"  
"Babe, we're on Earth. It's days here"  
"You know what I mean. Now, is there anything you need to do?"  
He didn't want to eat, but not eating wasn't healthy  
"Breakfast? I should eat something. I didn't eat up at the house. I need to talk to Rachel too. I scared her. Can you remind me?"  
"Of course. Do you want me to try talking to her?"

Lance appreciated the gesture  
"No, baby. I scared her, so I should be the one to talk to her. She's been worried and feels like I've replaced my family with you and my team because I didn't really reach out to anyone but mami. I want to... make her understand that it's not her personally"  
"As long as you're not trying to take everything on alone again"  
"Maybe a little... it's my family. Our family. But I rattled them and scared them all over again"  
"When you talk to your parents about it next, can I be there? I won't say anything, if you don't want me to... I just want you to know you don't need to be alone... you don't need to take all of this on your shoulders alone. I'm your husband, idiot"

Turning in Keith's arms, Lance nodded. There were things he didn't know. Things that Keith did... Things that he still wasn't strong enough to admit to his parents alone  
"I'd like that. I know they'd like that too. I think I said we bought an outpost together... so they're probably going to be pretty upset about it... They're good at hiding it when I fuck things up... Did I do the right thing by talking to them?"  
Carding his fingers through the longer side of Lance's hair, Keith sighed softly   
"Yeah. Yeah, you did. You're not a burden. You're not a fuck-up or an idiot for real. You're none of those things. Your parents love you so much. Letting them in, they're going to worry, but we're working through things. We have a plan in place. You're getting help, and I'll... I'll be seeing someone too... about my childhood and the things still in my head"  
Lance let out a soft sob, clinging to Keith harder  
"I don't deserve you. I never believed I could love someone like this. Someone like you. You were always my dream. My ideal. I was so fucking jealous of you... that I didn't understand what I could do to be better to catch up to you. Thank you... for not giving up and walking away"  
"Lance, I've told you this before, if things were the other way around, you wouldn't walk away. I know how stubborn you are. Even if I yelled and screamed at you, you wouldn't have let me go through any of this alone. You're so fucking strong. Stronger than anyone I know. And I love you. I've loved you for so long..."  
"I never thought it would be like this. You and me. I thought we'd probably end up yelling at each other or fighting all the time. You're so fucking good with me. You treat me like I'm something more than I am"  
"I treat you with the love and respect you deserve. You've always had so little faith in yourself. But look at all you've accomplished. You saved us on that ship. You shouldn't have been able to move, but you saved us both"  
"I fucking love you. I love you so much... I promise I'm trying... I want to be everything you need"  
"I know, you do. And you are. You need to eat now"  
"Yeah. But hey... I love you"  
"Dork. I love you too"

*  
Leading Keith up the hill, his husband pushed the hover-trolley with Kre'el's coffin while Lance carried the shovels and flowers. It'd been a long time since he'd visited what was once one of his favourite places on the farm. The memories too raw, and Allura never came back for him... He'd come to the top of the hill to talk to her. To beg her to come back... 

Reaching the summit, the view was the best on the farm. Fields of Altean juniper berry bushes swayed softly in the breeze. Sitting where he'd placed it, the wooden cross his papi had made for Allura had stood up well against the weather. Setting the trolley down a few feet away from the grave marker, Keith moved over to squat near the cross  
"Allura?"  
"I'd come up here to talk to her sometimes. I knew the Allura in my head wasn't real, and I had no place to... to visit her"  
"It's a nice place"  
"It was my favourite. You can see all the fence boundaries from here. At night you can see the lights from town. It's been a while since I came up here"  
"Why don't you talk to Allura while I start? You brought flowers up here too, I'm sure she'd love them"

Two bouquets. One a mix of roses with all kinds of foreign flower. The other mixed lilies and daisies...  
"I don't know who to give which one"  
"Why don't you give the roses to Allura? You loved her babe. And that's ok. Take your time and talk to her. Let her know what's been going on. I'm sure you know she'd be happy for you. Happy for us"  
"Yeah... thanks..."

Taking a shaky breath, it didn't feel right to leave Keith starting to dig Kre'el's grave, but Keith was right. As usual. Walking over, Lance sat down in front of the wooden cross, his fingers tracing Allura's name as he tried to think of where to even begin. So much had happened. Too much for just one afternoon. But like anything, all he could do was start at the start and go from there  
"Allura... I'm home..."


	4. Chapter 4

"Talking" with Allura, Lance found himself mentally spilling every dark secret he'd buried since she'd left. Everything from the moment he'd said goodbye. All the things he'd never said to her, all the things he should have said. He poured his heart out to the cross that was all he had of her. Her photos were too painful. They felt empty of her energy. He kept the ones of them together, but they stayed here on Earth while he ran as far as he could. He would have kept pouring his heart out if Keith hadn't placed his hand on his shoulder, letting him know that he was there for him and that he'd talked so long that the hole for the coffin was mostly dug. 

Wiping his eyes and dusting himself off, he took the shovel from Keith, climbing down into the hole to finish off. He'd have to ask his father to make another cross, so Kre'el could rest and never be forgotten. Her coffin was plain white, no fancy carvings or intricate designs on top. Just a cold box to contain a woman who'd suffered through so much. Life wasn't fair. He'd known that for almost as long as he'd known his own name. It was hard. Full of fighting and pain, but today he could breathe easier knowing that if he wanted, he could walk right back down the hill and into his mother's arms, and that she wouldn't question it. She still loved him. She still wanted him in her life, and she accepted that he wasn't alright, or as alright as he made seem. He knew she had to hurt from his blunt words, but what else could he do? His past was still clinging to the bottom of his shoes, and his future was right in front of him. Or beside him. In the current moment, his future was above him and slightly to the left, letting him be slightly pedantic over making sure the bottom was flat, so her coffin wouldn't warp and buckle before it's time. Patting the back of the shovel against the dirt, it was finally time  
"Babe?"  
"It's time"

Handing up the shovel to Keith, they hadn't thought things through properly. The hole was a little over 5 feet. There was nothing around that would disturb the grave, yet there was still the matter of lowering the casket down... which was an experience. Lance didn't want to step on the coffin, but with the lack of space and the drop, they were lucky they even managed to lower it down, having to trade positions as Keith was physically stronger than him. It still resulted in him sliding down the back of the hole as they tried to be careful. Both of them climbing out the grave feeling slightly wrong about how it'd gone down. It hadn't been a smooth and beautiful service. They were the only ones there to say the first of the goodbyes. What he wouldn't have given to have found her daughter to lay with her. It seemed unbearably cruel that they were both separated. Not knowing what he was supposed to do, he took the shovel up again, not allowing himself the luxury to rest. The sooner her grave was left alone, the sooner her eternal rest would start.

Covering the coffin, it seemed to take no time before the dirt was mounded up beside Allura's cross. The tears started, but the ran down his face, mixed with sweat from the bright sun overhead. Dirt clung to him from head to toe, Keith much the same way as he took the shovel from him, passing him the bouquet of sunflowers and daisies. Staring at the pretty yellow flowers in the bunch, they seemed ridiculously yellow and clean   
"I don't know what to say"  
"I don't know either. Maybe you don't need to know what to say right now. Your intentions are good. You put her to rest. She's here, surrounded by more freedom than she never had in her life. More love than she's had in years. She hurt you and forgave her. That's all that matters for now"  
"Yeah... I pray she's finally resting in peace, with her daughter again..."  
"I know, babe..."  
"I thought I'd have words for this"  
"You can think about it, and we'll come back up here with the others. When the time is right. You're not forgetting her by taking time to think"  
Lance let out a snort, taking himself by surprise. He had no idea why he snorted   
"You're right... let's head down now. We both need showers..."  
"Ok. I love you, you know"  
"I love you too. Do you think she's ok with me walking away?"  
"I think she would be. I think she wanted someone to stop her and wanted someone to save you. I think she'd be happy you have someone who loves you and is there for you"  
"I wish there'd been some other way... any other way. I forgive her, but I can't forgive everything. I can't forgive them for taking my virginity. I can't forgive them for all the disgust I still feel... but I want to believe when we were friends, that was real. That she's sorry for that. I want to go back now"

With the heat, the exertion, the heaviness of the day, he wanted to unwind again. Take a break before he had to think again. Let Keith comfort him, though he'd done so much of that already. Maybe he could convince Keith to take a shower with him? They both needed a shower and he wanted to show Keith some appreciation for everything he'd done. The least he could do wash his hair for him. The Telula's overhead shower head was the only real place they could share a shower without having to swap in and out. Movies were definitely wrong when it came to the romance of shower sharing   
"Babe? You still with me?"  
He hadn't noticed his hand was gripping his chest. He didn't feel like he was having an attack. He could think clearly for one thing   
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. What do you say we take a shower together? I want to hold you"  
Keith gave him a smile, that went straight to his heart   
"That sounds nice"

*  
Lance was dead on his feet by the end of their shopping trip. Trying to keep his team out of trouble, every time he turned his back, Zak was off and into something new. If it wasn't Zak it was random strangers asking for his or Keith's autographs. Then it was everyone he'd known growing up, or at least it seemed like he was introducing his team to every single person he'd ever met in his time before the Galaxy Garrison. Running into so many familiar faces should have reminded him of all the good times he'd had in his youth, but seeing them in contrast with the thousands of refugees that still called Earth home only served to make him feel like the alien in his own home town.

With his arms feeling like they were going to drop off, he dumped his bags of shopping in Keith's old room, before staggering over to their room where his husband was dealing with his own smaller load of shopping. Coming up behind Keith, Lance wrapped his arm around the half-Galra's waist, nuzzling into the nape of Keith's neck as he inhaled as much of Keith's scent as he could. He loved Keith holding him, but he loved holding his husband just as much. The best time was they'd fall asleep together and he'd wake to find himself spooned around Keith, like his smaller frame could protect the love of his life from everything   
"Hello, you"  
"Mmm, hello"

Nuzzling harder, Lance was in heaven. He was sure of it. Keith had kept him calm as they'd shopped. Even when Lance had disappeared to pick up a few more small gifts for his husband, the thought that Keith was waiting for him kept him grounded enough not to panic despite all the strangers surrounding him. Letting out a content sigh, he pressed a kiss to fair skin against his lips  
"Everything ok?"  
"Mmm. Yeah. Better now we're back here and all the children are accounted for"  
Laughing lightly, Keith placed his hands on his  
"I seriously thought we lost Ezor and Zethrid. That's the last time I trust Acxa to keep them in line. And are you sure your dad will be happy with a new set of spanners?"  
"Babe, we're on a working farm. Stuff goes missing all the time, so yes. And personally, I was more concerned that Ezor was going to make us crash the ute. I wouldn't be surprised if we'd all died on the way home"

The novelty of a car was too much for both their teams. Ezor kept trying to "help" by making repeated grabs for the gear stick, while Zethrid wanted to know why it didn't go faster. Sure, their work ute was old. She was rusty and didn't like going into gear half the time, but that was usually half the fun  
"She's never riding in the front again"  
"Nope. Anyway, how about you? How do you feel? I know you don't love crowds"  
"I'm alright. Though, I probably would have walked away the first time someone asked for my autograph"  
"I can see that. Sooo many people... I want to tackle you down into our bed and hold you all night, but now we have to go to dinner"  
"I wouldn't mind a good tackling"  
Rolling his eyes, Lance let Keith go   
"No tackling for you. I'm going to grab a jumper to replace this jacket. Is there anything you want from the closet?"  
"I'm good. I'm dressed alright, aren't I?"

Black skinny leg jeans with a black shirt... Keith was definitely more than alright   
"Maybe just a jacket. Here, put mine on, it's prewarmed and everything"  
"I need a jacket?"  
"You don't need a jacket, but sometimes it gets really cold here at night. Mami couldn't care less what you wear, as long your hands are washed and you eat way too much"  
"We're having dinner in the tent, aren't we?"  
"We don't fit in the house. Not your team, my team, and the family. It's a quiet dinner tonight, mami messaged me while we were out"  
"Oh... I didn't know she did"  
"I had to ask her something. It's fine. Now, we need to get a move on. Rachel will eat your dinner if you're late. She'll also break your heart by finishing the last of your birthday cake you were saving for breakfast the following morning, and putting glue in your favourite face cream"  
"I don't know who I'm more scared of, your dad or your sisters"  
"My sisters. Definitely my sisters. Poor old Jorge is scared of them too"  
Keith let out a confused hum of sorts   
"Dad is Jorge. Mum is Miriam. Or papi and mami. I've told you their names before"  
"I'm sorry... It's just, you always call them "mami" and "papi"... and your mum says to call her "mami""  
"Yep. Dad will pretty much answer to everything. It comes from spending so much time around mum. I don't know if Luis and Lisa will be there... but tomorrow night we'll be heading into town for Nadia and Sylvio's school play. Then on Christmas Eve, we have midnight mass. We don't have to go to morning mass on Christmas Day, so we can spend that together with our teams. Mami and papi, and the others are going. In the afternoon we'll be handing presents out. Then there's dinner and fireworks with the kids. Mum's like lowkey catholic when compared to the rest of the family. Especially after the existence of aliens were proven. She still believes in god though... Oh, we need to be up earlier tomorrow for the animals. It goes so much faster with more hands, but the cows were pretty uncomfortable waiting to be milked"

Keith gave a small laugh as he turned in his hold   
"Babe, you already told me the schedule"  
"I told you we were doing Christmas and New Years here. I didn't tell you absolutely everything. Like usually we have big family dinners from the 18th through to the 1st. I think mami changed all the plans because of what I said. That and I'm not up in the house where she can keep a close eye on me"  
"Keeping an eye on you is my job"  
"I know. Here, take the jacket already. We need to head out"

Dinner was loud and long. Rachel kept shooting him looks before biting her lip and looking away. Lance knew he needed to talk to her, but it was hard when she was at the opposite end of the table. In the end, most of the conversation came from Keith's team. Acxa had been forced to sit next to his mother, so she could finally get the woman talking to her. Their siblings had been pretty shocked that Veronica was dating Acxa, but that soon wore off. It was nice to watch as Acxa came out of her shell, even managing smiling and laughing at whatever his mother was saying to her. Down their end of the table, Lance had his hand on Keith's knee as he ate, enjoying the casual contact while Daehra and Lucteal discussed everything new they'd seen for the day. Zak and Tobias had bailed on dinner. Lance was sure he'd seen something suspiciously video game console like in Zak's hold. With a little bit of luck, the game console would keep both aliens out of trouble.

As the meal came to an end, Lance volunteered himself and Keith for dish duty. Not publicly admitting their competition as they both carried stacks of plates up to the house. The rules were simple. Everything had to arrive in one piece, and whoever was the fastest won. The game was ruined when they hit the old wire door. With their hands full, they couldn't hit the magnetic lock and were left to stand there until his mother finally brought up the rear with the leftovers. Sighing heavily at the pair of them, she let them, Lance darting in before Keith could and claiming victory. It was a small win, but a win all the same. Piling into the house, their team members were ushered through to the living room. Marco insisted they needed a crash course in Earth Christmas movies. His excuse for why he couldn't help with the dishes, when their mother tried to un-volunteer them. Waiting until his mother filled the kettle, Lance then went about stacking plates in the sink, automatically pulling the cupboard door next to him open so Keith could scrape the plates into the pig bucket.

For Lance, the comfortable silence of the kitchen as everyone fell into place wasn't all that comfortable. The moment the kettle boiled and the teapot filled to brew, his mother gathered up four cups from the rack  
"Mijo, leave the dishes for a moment. Your father and I want to talk"  
Like he hadn't seen this coming from a quiznakking mile away  
"It's alright, mami. We can talk while I wash the dishes. I told Keith about what I said today, so anything you want to say or ask, it's ok"

Tugging his gloves off, Lance placed them up on the window ledge, then went about rolling his sleeves up. The gloves were waterproof, but he didn't really want them soaking in the remnants of dinner. Grabbing the dishwashing liquid off the sink, he gave a generous squirt before making sure the plug was in place and starting to fill the sink   
"Your father and I have some concerns"  
"I thought you might do. You can ask... if I can't... answer it just yet, I'll tell you"  
"Alright. We want to know what you meant by brain damage. Was it because of the bleed during surgery? Couldn't the pod heal it? Is it permanent?"  
Straight for the big one first...  
"There's some scarring. I don't remember how it happened, but it couldn't be healed by the pod because it'd already scarred. If they went in to try and fix it, they'd probably end up risking making it worse"  
"Mijo..."

His mother's quivering voice is exactly why kept all of this to himself. Lance's hands gripped the plate in his grasp harder. Sensing his discomfort, Keith stepping while Lance forced himself to loosen his hold  
"The damage isn't major. Lance is still Lance. It's mostly time that he gets anxious over, and sometimes he'll forget small things. The scar is located in the temporal lobe, according to his scans. It affects his flight or fight responses, which doesn't help with the PTS or depression, but we've got plans in place to help with things like flashback and panic attacks. We've been working on identifying his triggers and how to calm down a panic attack when he feels one setting in, which isn't always. It hasn't made him any less himself"

"Surely you can understand why we'd worry"  
Breathing out through his nose, Lance finally started scrubbing the dishes, Keith now waiting with a tea towel for him to catch up   
"I know, mami. It's hard for me to tell you. I know I acted wrong and didn't... do things how I probably should have after Allura died"  
"Mijo, you were hurting. More than we knew... Keith, it's very brave of you to face these things with Lance, but how are you? I know how hard it can be to care for someone in a medical sense when you love them"  
He was right there. If they wanted him to leave, the could just tell him... No. He was being stupid. His anxieties were being stupid. Of course, his parents wanted to know if Keith was handling things  
"I'm alright. I mean. It's not always easy. We've always been good at riling each other up, and Lance is still healing, but he's trying so hard. It was harder in the beginning. I... had feelings for him before he started dating Allura, and when we ran into each other again, I didn't understand anything that was happening or going through his head. I wasn't even sure Lance was Lance with how drastically he'd changed"  
"I worry for you both. Your both so young. Please make sure that you're taking time for yourself"  
"I have been, but honestly I'm happier with him than alone. I didn't have much of a family life growing up. When we met, I was warped and jaded from all the stuff I'd seen in the foster system and my brother's disappearance, so when Lance started acting like everyone's brother, I didn't handle it very well. It took phoebs to realise that who he was, and that he wasn't pushing himself to pretend to care. I didn't have much faith left in humanity, but then before I knew it, I took control of Voltron and Lance was my right-hand man. Voltron never would have succeeded without him"

A few ticks passed before his mother's next question came  
"You said people hurt you for the red lion. What happened to them? Did they get everyone who hurt you?"  
"Yeah. They're taken care of. Kre'el made sure of that. They worked for her, without knowing they did. When they hurt me without her permission... stuff happened. Basically, they won't be coming back"  
"And the man you worked for?"  
"Dead. He's dead. I've handed everything I had over to Shiro and Keith's mum. I need to stop being stuck in the past. I want to give this thing between Keith and I a real shot... and I don't ever want to scare you guys again"  
"You said you bought an outpost? For you and Keith? You're not staying on?"

His mother wasn't trying to be accusing, but yet again his anxieties went there   
"I'm not finished with my job. I like the work I'm doing. Helping people that Voltron wasn't able to help. Helping to keep space safe and calm. It's an old rebel base that they couldn't use anymore so moved on from. The money I gave them for it is only going to end up going back through the system and to the people who need it. It's not too far from Erathus and a little over a movement to Daibazaal. Plus, the police out there totally owe me for doing the prison transfer out there so it shouldn't be too bad"  
"We know you love your job, but if dangerous people..."  
"Mami, I could live on Earth and it'll be just as dangerous. I have a really good team. Daehra is like the most amazing medic you could ask for. Lucteal backs me where I lack in hand to hand combat. There isn't anything in existence that Zak can't hack his way into. Tobias is... he's there. Plus, I have support from Shiro and Coran. It's not like it was before. I'm slowly trying to let everyone back in again. Like you and papi. And I want to talk to Rachel and V. I think Luis and Marco are just happy I haven't drunk myself senseless yet..."  
"They worry for you"  
"I know, mami. But there's worrying, and there's smothering. Veronica already tried to smother me. I really wish she'd taken time off sooner. She needs it. She's so cranky up there, she's even got poor Shiro scared"  
"She's always been headstrong. I guess there's nothing we can say to convince you to stay on Earth?"

Lance let gave a mental sigh. How we're parents able to lay the guilt on without changing their tone? His stomach was starting to roll with the festering feeling forming inside him  
"No. Mami, I will always love Earth. It was my home and the place I longed to come back to every single day I was in space, but it... other than this house and all of you, it doesn't feel right for me anymore. I thought we'd come home to Earth. I thought we'd stop the Galra before they even spread out this far... but not it's like I don't belong out there, with everyone else here. The streets have changed. There are so many strangers and I don't know what's even going on in Earth politics anymore. I love you guys and the farm. I couldn't imagine not having that in my life, but until I'm better, I need to keep doing what I'm doing. Plus, my therapist is on Erathus. It's easy for me to get there from where the outpost is"  
"You were always like this is a child, running off whenever I wanted you to stay. I don't want to lose you, my baby"  
"You're not losing me. I need this right now, and I need... Keith says I need to do what I need to do for me. I'd rather lose a finger and find happiness, than having kept the finger and lost all of this"  
"I still can't believe what they did to your hand, and those nasty blaster burns"  
"They've healed. I'm physically fine. Just a bit bruised around the mental edges. I'm in a better place... no, that makes it sound too much like I've died. I'm doing better than I was"  
"Don't think I don't remember you said you died! Why didn't you tell us?!"

The plate Lance was scrubbing slipped from his hand as he flinched. He could feel the tightness in his chest starting to build. The voice of anxiety whispering how he would never have disappointed his parents if he'd just stayed dead. Trying to ignore it, he pulled the plate back out again. He just had to be normal for a little longer. A little longer, then he could go back to the Telula and snuggled up with Keith in his arms  
"Because it was only for a few moments. Allura brought me right back. Plus... there were more important things going on"  
"There's nothing more important than your life"  
"There is! There's you. There's all of you! Papi, Luis, Marco, Veronica, Rachel... I couldn't come back from something happening to any of you! If my life could stop you all from being hurt, I'd give it every single day of the damn week!"  
Placing his hand on his shoulder, Lance shrugged off Keith's touch. His skin prickling under the normally comforting hand. Not taking offence, Keith plucked the plate from Lance's hands  
"I'm sorry. I know you have more questions, but I think that's enough for tonight. It's been a really long day for all of us. Let's get these dishes done and head to bed, babe?"  
"Yeah.. yeah, your right. It's been a stupidly long day... Why don't you two go watch movies with everyone? Keith and I can finish up here, it's no drama"  
"Mijo..."  
"I'm ok, mami. I just need to... do this right now. I love you. And I love you, papi"  
"We love you too, mijo. And you too Keith. Thank you for all you do for our Lance"  
"You're welcome, though he's the one doing all the hard work"  
Jorge cleared his throat   
"Keith, Lance tells me your pretty handy. Would you mind helping an old man with his tractor? No rush or anything..."  
"It's no trouble at all..."  
Keith trailed off, unsure what to call his father   
"Jorge is fine son, or papi if you feel like it. Make sure you don't stay up too late"  
"We won't, Jorge. Thanks for a wonderful dinner, mami"

Waiting until his parents had left Keith out the tea towel down, before nudging him with his elbow. A slight blush on his husband's cheeks  
"Is it really ok to call him Jorge?"  
"He said so. Thanks for being here... It gets so hard to tell them anything. Mami worries and papi worries, then I worry about them..."  
"Your parents are nice"  
There was a tinge of sadness in Keith's voice that had Lance abandoning the dishes, his anxieties didn't matter as he hastily wiped his hands on his jeans before reaching up to cup Keith's cheeks. Gently kissing his husband, the indulged himself as one soft kiss turned to three, a smile on Keith's lips as he broke away to stare into his husband's eyes. Reaching up with his left hand, he brushed a few stray hairs back from Keith's forehead  
"You're so beautiful, babe. I love you. I hope you know how happy you make me"  
Blinking at him, Keith leaned in to kiss him, much harder and more passionately than the soft and tender kisses he'd bestowed upon his husband's soft lips. Moaning into the kiss, Lance felt dizzy from the attention, his stupid knees having the audacity to go weak.

Forcing himself to break the kiss, they both smiled at each other like the lovestruck idiots they were  
"Wow..."  
"Yeah... sorry if it was too much"  
"No. No... that was... let's get these dishes done. I feel like you just kissed all the stress out of me in one go"  
"Oh, is that an invitation to do it again?"  
"Mmm, as tempting as it is, let's save that for bed. If you keep kissing me, I'm going to end up on the floor in a goopy loved up puddle, and these dishes will never be done"  
"I like the sound of that"  
"I know you do, and that's the problem. But if you're a good boy, I promise you a special treat"  
Covering his mouth and nose, Keith pulled away as he laugh-snorted. Faking offence, Lance huffed as he turned back to the dishes   
"So rude"  
"I'll be good. I just can't keep up with you sometimes. I could smell how agitated you'd become, but the next tick we're kissing and laughing"  
"And who's fault is that? Honestly. You're too beautiful for your own good"  
"Nah, we both know you're the beautiful one. I'm the hot one"

Turning to gape at his husband, Keith shot him finger guns. The half-Galra had no idea what he started, but Lance was now going to prove how hot he could be.

*  
With both their teams falling asleep while watching some snowy Christmas movie, Lance pulled Keith back to the privacy of the Telula. Washing all the dishes had been draining, but a second wave of unexpected energy had crashed through him thanks to Keith and him getting lost in the kitchen. What was the point of shutting the cutlery drawer when there was more cutlery to go away? And how managed to forget twice where it was... Lance would never know. 

Leading his husband through to their room, he pushed Keith down onto their bed, before climbing up and straddling his lap  
"Babe?"  
"Shhh... I've got this"  
He didn't know if he had this. He simply wanted to feel Keith beneath his fingers. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to Keith's as he started taking his gloves off, when his husband started kissing back, he broke the kiss to start kissing down his chin and across his throat   
"Shit... babe..."  
Getting his pesky gloves off, they went flying. His hands moving to Keith's hips as wriggled down his husband's legs, mouthing harder at his neck as he went  
"I love you... I love you so fucking much"

Sucking a deep possessive hickey on Keith's neck, Lance pulled back to survey his work, a smirk on his lips. Keith was biting his bottom lip as he stared up at him. God. The man was the epitome of sex appeal. Shifting his weight, he grabbed hold of the bottom of his jumper, tugging both it and his shirt free in one smooth move. He was actually momentarily surprised at how well he managed to execute the move without klutzing it up   
"Lance?"  
"Take your shirt off. I want to see you"  
Nodding, Keith sat up so he could. Accidentally hitting Lance in the chin in his rush to obey. Laughing at his alarmed looking husband, Lance moved his hands up to "help" free Keith of his shirt and jacket, before throwing them to join his gloves, his lips smashing into Keith's as he pushed him back down, and slid back up so he was straddling the forming tent in Keith's jeans. Letting out a growl, Keith rolled his hips as he broke the kiss, hands going to Lance's arse  
"You're so fucking sexy"

Groaning as Keith's gripped him hard, he was struck in the face the scent of Keith's desire. He didn't want to just have sex. He didn't want to think about his pleasure, he wanted to make Keith feel loved. He knew a happy family home came with lingering pain for the man he loved, so he wanted to show Keith just how damn loved he was  
"Hey, tonight it's about you, babe. Let me make you feel good?"  
"I want to touch you"  
"Mmm, but let me touch you first..."  
Grinding down against Keith, Keith let out a sinful moan   
"See, baby. Let me take care of you"

They had rules. Sleeping with underwear on was non-negotiable. Preferably with pyjama bottoms but sometimes they were too tired to go to the effort. Above or "through" contact was alright, provided Lance gave clear permission, and Keith would stop if it all got too much or smelt something was wrong. Awkward morning boners were politely excused, and wet dreams too. If Lance grew too wet and soaked through his underwear, Keith would wake him so he could clean up... which was still a little mortifying, even when his husband meant well. Waiting for Keith to nod, Lance began peppering open mouth kisses to the half-Galra's throat, letting out small moans at the feeling of Keith's skin so openly exposed to him. There was something about being so intimate and completely control that made him feel like he was unstoppable. Keith was allowed to use force on him in the case that he flipped out. But his husband wouldn't. He'd only agreed to satisfy him and they both knew it. Making his way down Keith's chest, he pressed kisses to the scars there, tracing his hands up his lover's abs. Keith might call him beautiful, but he was nothing when compared to the man between his legs. Reaching his left pec, Lance traced the muscles outline with his tongue, Keith arching beneath him as he paused to blow across the trail, then moved to tease the small bud of his left nipple into a stiff peak with his tongue. Biting lightly, he hummed happily when Keith growled at him, hands gripping his arse even harder. 

Pressing a kiss to the centre of Keith's chest, his right nipple was already a hard bud, taking it into his mouth, he sucked firmly, rolling his hips as he did. Keith wasn't sure if he liked his nipples being touched, whereas Lance's were constantly sensitive under his lover's ministrations. A playful flick never failed to send a jolt through his groin. Their time on Daibazaal hadn't been all meetings and gloom. Some light mutual touching had morphed into something a little more. Rules formed and broken, but they'd never crossed the line back into sex or beyond a mutual handjob. He'd been too worried about Earth to be in the right frame of mind. Whining at him, Lance pulled off Keith's reddened nipple to stare down at his husband before hungrily claiming his lips again. 

Moving his hands up Lance's back, Keith rolled them so Lance's long legs were wrapped around his waist as broke the kiss in favour of furiously nuzzling into Lance's neck, dropping soft kisses to the flesh as he dragged his teeth across the curve and down to his collar bone   
"Babe... you're so fucking beautiful"  
Biting down on his collar bone, Lance let out a surprised gasp that was suspiciously moan like. He could feel a sudden rush of wetness between his legs as Keith rutted up against him  
"So beautiful... so beautiful babe..."  
Moving up to claim his lips again, Lance felt like he was melting. This wasn't how things were supposed to go, but damn if he didn't feel like the most loved and wanted man in the world. He could... He was learning how to let go. Keith never judged him. Keith would never judge him when they were like this... He was still opening up and allowing himself to be open beneath Keith, but his husband truly loved him for him, no matter what he'd been through. It was intoxicating to know that it wasn't his messed up body, but he himself that his husband wanted. Breaking the kiss, Keith stared down at him  
"Babe?"  
"I'm ok... I'm ok... God, I love you. You... make me so happy"  
Smiling, Keith leaned in to kiss him softly, ending the kiss sweetly to rest his forehead against Lance's  
"Not as happy as you make me... Can I eat you out?"  
Lance let out a breathy laugh   
"Babe, the whole point of tonight was I wanted to show you how much I love you. I want to focus on you tonight"  
"Nothing making me happier than you... and I want to do this. I want to taste you on my tongue"

How was he supposed to say no to that? Especially when his body was so damn eager for it... he just... he was saving sex for a little further on... maybe a few days if everything went right. He wanted it to be really special and perfect for them both... and had it all mentally planned   
"No sex. I mean... I..."  
"It's alright. I want to touch you. If you don't feel comfortable, I promise to stop"  
"Ok... go slow?"  
"Always"

Stripped beneath Keith, his husband insisted on echoing his earlier movements. Teasing his nipples until Lance was wet enough that the sheet beneath his arse was thoroughly soaked. Pulling him down the bed, the wetness smeared up his back as his legs were pushed open, Keith's fingernails scraping as he gripped his legs. Blushing, Lance grabbed his pillow, covering his face  
"Babe? Are you ok?"  
"Mhmm"  
Squeaking, Lance forced himself to peak over the pillow  
"Then why are you hiding?"  
"Because I'm like... completely exposed here"  
They might both be naked, but Keith wasn't the one with his arse and junk on display  
"I know. It's a great view"  
Groaning, Lance pulled the pillow back up  
"Babe, if you're not comfortable"  
"It's... exposing"  
"Then you're going to love what comes next"

Throwing his pillow at Keith, Keith dodged with ease before burying his between Lance's legs, the Cuban letting out a choked cry of pleasure as Keith's tongue lapped at his leaking opening, the inside of his thighs trembling  
"Quiznak... oh... fuck..."  
Keith had the nerve to snort lightly, before slipping the tip of his tongue in, Lance throwing his hands out to fist the sheets as his husband moaned, hips rocking in desperate need for more than just the tip of his tongue. Fuck... fuck... there was no way he could last, and he'd only just started... oh quiznak...   
"Keith... fuck..."

Panting and shaking, Lance lost himself chasing the pleasure of Keith's mouth and fingers. With his hand wrapped around his dick, his husband alternated between eating him out and blowing his brains out. The soft laps along his leaking slit contrasted against the hard way Keith all but shoved his face against arse, eating him like there was no tomorrow while Lance fucked himself on his husband's tongue. His whole body was shaking, so close to orgasm that it was cruel. With his chest heaving, he licked at his dry lips. He wanted to come...

"You can come, baby. You come... you don't need to beg"

Lance didn't know he'd been begging... Keith's hold on his dick was the only thing keeping him from coming. Pulling off his arse, Keith sank his mouth down Lance's shaft, still holding him tight as he worked the tip... The stupid purple-eyed bastard had said he could come... so why wasn't he letting him... he wanted to come... he was hard... properly hard... tears prickling in his eyes, hands sore from holding the sheets so tightly. Sliding off with a lewd pop, Lance whimpered at Keith's breath against the tip of his dick  
"Come down my throat... want to taste it"  
Sinking back down, Keith released his hold, jerking him as Lance swore the whole world imploded with pleasure, hips stuttering as Keith drank him dry. Holy fucking quiznak... Keith was... Keith was jerking off to him? Warmth splattered across his arse and thigh as Keith let out a long growl... fuck... fuck...

Coming hard enough to fall completely boneless, Keith kissed his inner thighs before lowering his legs off his shoulders. Climbing up, his husband collapsed next to him, brow damp with sweat as he grinned, a hand lazily coming up to pat around on Lance's chest until Lance raised his hand to capture Keith's. Lance hoped his husband knew how much effort that took and how floaty he felt in the afterglow of probably the best orgasm of his life. Laying there, they both caught their breaths, Keith wriggling to lay up against him, nuzzling and kissing his shoulder   
"Babe? You ok?"  
"Mhmm..."  
"Ok... fuck... you came so hard it came out my nose"  
Laughing weakly, Keith rubbed his nose against his arm, Lance wrinkling his face up in disgust   
"I've got enough cum on me, that I don't need more. Can you stand?"  
"Hmm, what?"  
"Never mind... I need to clean up..."  
Their mixed cum was starting to dry against his skin, the feeling not the greatest, and if he allowed himself to focus on it too long, the bliss and heat of the moment would turn to fear   
"I'm going to take a shower. Do you want me to bring you back a cloth?"  
Keith sighed at him, flinging a leg over his hips to keep him in place  
"Do we need to clean up?"  
"As someone who's slept in their own filth, I need to clean up"  
He didn't exactly snap, but Lance's tone took on a hard edge   
"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for, especially after that orgasm. I need to clean up, babe. Can you please let me up?"  
Keith slid his leg back   
"Yeah, babe. Sorry. I didn't think of that"  
"No, don't say sorry... We're... boundaries right?"  
Kissing his shoulder again, Keith propped himself up  
"Here, let's get you up and in the shower, then I'll change our sheets"  
"Thanks... and... that felt good..."  
"Mmm, you taste really good"  
Going for a kiss, Lance pushed him back   
"Nope. I'm not being kissed while you're all "juicy". That's a no go. Now, carry me? My legs are like jelly"

Releasing his hand, Keith grabbed him up and threw him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. Slapping his husband's arse, Lance let out a laugh. This wasn't what he meant. He'd been joking for the most part. His legs did feel like jelly, but now Keith had gone and recovered with his stupid Galra stamina and made off with him like it was nothing. He was supposed to be reminding his husband that he was the hot one! Now he was stuck staring at Keith's glorious arse and toned back... it wasn't fair. Hot. Smart. Kind. Gorgeous and strong as hell... Stupid perfect Keith and his stupid perfect mullet.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoots update into the void... Talk to me?

Letting Keith sleep, Lance peeled himself out of bed when the alarm on his comms started to beep. Mumbling in his sleep, his husband was adorable. Face relaxed, black hair fanned out, a thin line of drool running from the corner of his slightly parted lips, a hand searching for him. Pushing his pillow into Keith's hold, Keith let out a happy sigh as he cuddled tightly, nose pushed up into the fabric. Dios. He was perfect. Making sure the blankets were pulled up, Lance didn't want to leave him, but the animals needed tending to, and he needed to check-in at the house to make sure their teams were alright.

Lance was freezing as he jogged down to the barn, despite wearing a long sleeve shirt, a T-shirt, and the jacket Keith was wearing the previous night, plus jeans, two pairs of socks and his boots, the weather looked miserable. Miserable weather meant getting all the animals into the barn... getting the animals into the barn meant taking even longer with the morning chores because that was fun when he was already wishing he'd never got out of bed. Reaching the aging structure, he was quick to let himself inside the garage. If the animals were coming in, he needed to shut the split door or risk chickens escaping again. Walking over to the split door, it was already locked and chained in place   
"You're slow, dumb arse. Mami sent me down to help with getting the animals in"

Screaming, Lance threw his hands up, trying to protect himself from Rachel. Lowering them cautiously, his sister rolled her eyes at him. An all-weather lantern already lit and in her hold  
"You're supposed to be doing the animals, remember?"  
"I know I am, but what are you doing here?"  
"Mami definitely dropped you on the head when you were born. She went me down to help get the animals in"  
He'd heard the first time. He didn't need the annoyed drawn-out sentence  
"I can take care of it alone"  
"Your precious husband isn't here?"  
He didn't need Rachel's sass. Striding across the garage, he ignored his sister. Sure, he wanted to talk to her, but not with her being so snarky. He could hear Rachel following him to the chicken feed, gumboots weren't the stealthiest form of footwear. Continuing to ignore her, he grabbed the scoop, going for the bucket that was usually right there, only for it to be stolen away  
"Rachel! I need to feed the animals"  
"Just give it here. Go let the cows in or something"  
"I know what to do Rachel! I'm not stupid! Go back up to the farmhouse. My precious husband is sleeping. I want to get this done and take the milk up to the house, so if you're going to mess around, you can go"  
Why was she even down here? Sure, it was a job that went faster with someone else... but she'd only slow him down trying to get a rise out of him. 

Pointing towards the house, Lance kept glaring at sister  
"Go! I can take care of this! Or do you want to have another go at me? Is that it?"  
Frozen Lance was cranky Lance. He should have still been relaxed after the previous night, but the cold wind of the morning had stripped away his ability to give two shits. Placing the bucket down, Rachel raised her hands in clear surrender   
"Lance, wait! No. I lied. Mami didn't send me, I wanted to talk to you"  
"You wanted to talk to me?"  
Was he actually awake? Was this his sister? She was acting so serious... He didn't know what to do with "Serious Rachel"  
"Yes, you idiot. Why is it every time I look at your dumb face I get angry? That's not what I wanted to say..."  
Groaning at him, Rachel put her hands on her hips  
"I heard what you said to mami and yesterday when you brought the milk in"

Picking up the scoop up again, Lance started shoving chicken feed into the bucket   
"You didn't hear anything"  
"Brain damage. PTS and panic attacks... Why didn't you tell us?"  
That little... he could see it all now. Her back pressed against the hallway between the staircase and the kitchen   
"Rachel, I'm not having this conversation with you"  
"No"  
"You're my brother!"  
"I don't need your pity, Rach. I'm a fucking screw up and you know it. You saw what it was like when I was home last time. Well, it's been like a thousand times worse, so there was no way I ruining everything again!"  
Yelling at his sister only caused Rachel to yell back  
"Why couldn't you just come home?!"  
"And risk bringing the people after back here? Where they could hurt my family? I know you think you've been replaced, but there's no one who could replace you all. I've been in space so long, it's better I just stay there. Besides, it's not like you want me home"  
"Why are men so frustrating?! I don't not want you home! But I don't get why you can't call us"  
"You wouldn't understand"

With the bucket full, Lance looped around the outside of the barn then over the fence into the pens to start filling the indoor feeders   
"Why wouldn't I understand? I was here when Earth was invaded. I know what's it's like"  
Sure, his sister had seen things he'd never wanted her to see, but at least she'd been back on Earth with her family   
"But you weren't out there! I missed you guys every single day! I worked my arse off to come back to you, but all you got was a broken brother back after being missing for like 4 years Earth time. Then, when I finally come back, I can't relax and let go of the past. So forgive me if I want to keep all the crap out there, out there. I love Keith. He helped me get back on my feet and gave me the strength to finally come home"  
"But why couldn't you come home sooner? We missed you. Mami has been so worried. She and V keep talking about you"

Rachel didn't get it. She'd always been a ball of too much energy and sibling rivalry. It wasn't like Lance hadn't gotten his own back. In revenge for when she's ruined his face cream, he'd snuck into her room and sprayed spray adhesive in her hair. He'd thought it'd wash out, but instead, his mother had to cut Rachel's hair short... She was always so much stronger than him... sneakier too. He was the baby of the family, the one in the background and usually forgotten in the chaos.

"You don't get it. I mentally can't. The anxiety starts and I end up fucking everything up. I'd rather you laugh at me, or act like a cow, than have you act all weird because you think you have to be on edge or whatever"  
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do to help"  
"You don't need to do anything, except maybe give my team and Keith a break. Keith's a good guy. A really good guy. The aunties already have it in for him. I want him to relax and be happy. He's special to me, so it's important to me that he gets on with all of you"  
"You married him without telling anyone. You don't get to come home with your husband like it's nothing!"  
"I do! If you were listening, we were wed by a princess who is all of 8. We had no idea. But Keith and I... Keith was dating me with the intention towards marriage... So what if we skipped the gun a little? We're happy and we're working things out together. We've known each other for years... He's always had my back, and he's so fucking good to me and for me"  
"You nearly got killed..."  
"Which was all my fault. It was my fault and now Shiro's stuck cleaning up the mess..."  
Groaning, Rachel stomped her foot   
"Why don't you get what I'm trying to say?"  
Throwing his hands up, chicken feed went everywhere   
"Then why don't you explain it?!"  
"You're my stupid little brother! I don't want you getting hurt and I don't want you to die! I want my brother back! The one who could be counted on when it came to mischief! Now you're married, you've got your own team and you never call home to talk to anyone but mami!"  
"Because if I don't call mami, she calls Keith. Honestly, it's a hassle. Look, when I call next, ask mami to sit on the call"  
"You have a communicator, you could message me"  
"And if I did, would you reply?"  
"Maybe. It depends on how stupid your message is! All I want is you to take better care of yourself... You're my baby brother... my only baby brother. We're the youngest, we've got to stick together"  
Lance paused, thinking through what Rachel said   
"You... missed me?"  
"Of course I missed you... All I wanted to do was be there for you"

Abandoning feeding the chicken, Lance strode over to Rachel, throwing his arms around her  
"I missed you too. So please don't treat me any differently. I'm still me... mostly me"  
"Get off me you idiot, you stink!"  
That was the Rachel he knew and mostly loved   
"Nope, you said you missed me. You asked for it"  
"I'm starting to miss you even less by the second"  
"Good, because you're stuck with until after the new year. Me and my husband"  
"I don't know how you snagged Keith. He's too good for an idiot like you"  
"I don't know how I managed it either, but I'm not sharing"  
"Mhmm..."  
"Rachel"  
"I just said "mhmm" now let me go. We need to clean up before the storm"  
"Don't you dare get any ideas when it comes to Keith"  
"What kind of sister would I be if I didn't initiate this husband of yours?"  
"Rachel, I swear to god. If you go near my husband, I will shoot you"  
"I'd like to see you try. Now hurry up, mami is going to make a full breakfast for everyone, and if I miss out on bacon, your ships going to go missing"  
"My ship? You stand no chance at heisting my ship"  
"Wanna bet?"  
"What's in it for me?"  
"I won't hit on your husband"  
"Keith's gay, you stand no chance"  
"That doesn't mean I can't make him as uncomfortable as hell"  
"You little... I'm going to kill you. This is his first family Christmas. If you ruin it..."  
"Yeah, yeah. That ship's going to be mine"  
"You can't use my team..."  
"I'll find a way. You just wait and see"  
With all the tech on his ship and Rachel not in the system, Lance was kind of curious how it'd play out   
"Fine. You win, and I'll give you a blaster. You lose, and you leave Keith the quiznak alone. You have until we leave to heist my ship. You can't involve my team, or hassle then into cooperating"  
"It's a deal!"  
"Deal!"

*  
With the weather turning sour, the day was spent inside watching movies. By the time lunch had rolled round, outside was blowing a gale that rattled the windows. The power flickered off and on, as they all crowded the living room and spilled into the dining room. Yet, through all the chaos of the weather, and Rachel and Marco loudly trying to teach Acxa and Daehra monopoly, Lance was completely out to the world. When his husband had come back wet from the rain, Keith had been slightly disappointed that Lance hadn't asked for his help, but when he'd happily filled him on Rachel's plan to claim the Telula, Keith realised that maybe it was for the best that the two siblings had spent the morning together. Now... Now he'd long lost feeling in his legs, Lance had fallen asleep while watching the Voltron cartoon series with the team, Keith pushed into Acxa's side by his sleeping husband. Freeing up the space for them, Keith pulled his sleepy husband up to lay along him. Lance clinging to him in sleep, snoring softly as his hands remained fisted around Keith's shirt. Oblivious to everyone's stares.

Blinded by the flash of a camera, Keith nearly growled at the unwanted interruption. The sound bubbling up in the back of his throat before growing mute when he realised it was Lance's mother smiling down fondly at the pair of them  
"I don't think I've ever seen him sleep so peacefully. Not since you all returned, and not without medical intervention"  
Bringing his hand up to stroke Lance's hair, Lance nuzzled into his chest, a happy kind of purr escaping in his snore. Fuck. He was so smitten with his husband. It didn't matter if he couldn't feel his legs or if there was some spring digging into his back. Lance always accused him of being the cuddly one, but here he was clutching at him and smelling divine. A perfect mix of sea salt and waves, coupled with the smell of rain outside. Keith was very nearly on the verge of sleep, yet his instincts wouldn't let him rest while Lance slept so deeply, the storm outside sounded ready to break through at any moment   
"He doesn't wake up as much as he used to"  
"We can move him if it's too much, up to Rachel or Marco's room"  
"No... no, it's alright. Let him sleep. Do you mind getting him a blanket though?"  
While Keith ran naturally hot, Lance now always ran cold. He'd felt warmer since his stint in the pod, but to Keith Lance felt warm more often than not. Warm and alive, the way he should be. Rubbing lance's back with his other hand, his husband let out a rather loud snore, drawing a smile from both Keith and his mother  
"Of course, mijo. Are you sure you're alright like that?"  
"Yeah, thank you"

With a blanket covering most of Lance, Keith's protective instincts started to lessen. Not that he wasn't fiercely protectively of Lance, it was just better when his boyfriend was covered by a blanket and protected from the world. Making the mistake of wriggling down to try and restore circulation and relieve himself of the spring, Lance roused with a sleepy yawn  
"Keith?"  
"I'm here, babe"  
Nuzzling into his shirt, Lance let out a soft sigh. Ruffling Lance's hair, he was rewarded with a loving smile  
"' love you... so much..."  
"I love you too. Go back to sleep, babe. I've got you"  
"Mmm... rainy days with the sound of rain against tin are made for napping with beautiful men"  
"I noticed... we'll just have to find you a beautiful man"  
"Got one. Best man in the 'verse..."   
"Go back to sleep, you fool"  
"I am... love you"  
Laughing softly, Keith leaned up to kiss Lance's hair  
"You already said that"  
"Mmm... nap with me"  
"I'm alright"  
"Nap with me any..."

There was a boom so loud that the whole house shook. Keith was pushing Lance off of him and bolting to the front porch before his head could catch up with his feet. Searching for the unseen foe, he grabbed his blade from his boot, dropping his stance as his heart raced. When a second loud boom came as the sky lit up, the half-Galra realised what had happened. It was fucking thunder. He'd freaked over thunder... Thank quiznak they weren't under attack, but to freak out like that over a bit of thunder... Holy quiznak...

"Babe, are you ok?"

Cautiously coming to his side, Lance waited until he acknowledged him. Forcing himself to calm down, Keith slipped the knife back into his boot  
"Yeah... Sorry. I don't know what I was thinking"  
"You were thinking we were under attack, didn't you?"  
Biting his bottom lip, his husband pulled him into his hold. An arm around his waist as he pushed a small kiss to Keith's lips  
"You're ok, babe. You're ok. I'm ok"  
Reaching up to stroke his hair, Lance nuzzled into his cheek   
"There's nothing wrong. It's just a bad storm"  
"I'm sorry. It's stupid. My instincts..."  
"Your instincts are usually right, babe"  
"No... I... I was feeling protective of you, I guess the sudden clap of thunder startled my instincts. I feel stupid now"

Returning his husband's embrace, Keith could feel the tension of expected battle slowly leaving his body  
"You're not stupid. You're not. It's ok. I get it"  
"I don't"  
"It wasn't a panic attack, maybe more like a flashback? The loud sound reminded you of an explosion instead of thunder. Trust me. The first time I heard thunder again, I was the same, thinking it was them coming for us. But you're safe here. No one's going to hurt you. I wouldn't let them"  
"I don't know what happened though"  
It was quiznakking thunder. There were no evil violet lasers shooting at the planet. He'd leapt to tense and on guard too fast. He didn't even remember slipping the knife into his boot. He'd thought he was relaxing and enjoying spending time with his husband's family. Shifting, Lance gave him a loving smile, blue eyes shining as they met his   
"I get that. I get that... You're not stupid. You're not whatever else you're thinking. We were kids when we got sent out there, it's going to leave an effect. Can you come back to the living room with me?"

Keith's felt like he was internally blushing. Lance getting it didn't make him not feel stupid. He knew how these sorts of things made his husband feel, and that he wasn't judging him for any of it... yet... How was he supposed to face them after rushing out like that?  
"I made a fool of myself"  
"You didn't. I promise you didn't... and if anyone says anything, I'll get mami's pink slipper onto them. Come back to the sofa, baby. Weather like this where there's lightning is made for napping"  
"You just want your pillow back"  
"No, I want my husband to understand that there was nothing wrong with what happened. That I love him, and then I want my pillow back. You're like a goddam heater, of course, I'm going sap all the warmth from you that I can"  
"I feel stupid"  
"You're not"  
"I freaked over lightening"  
"And I freak over everything. Babe... if you want, we can run for the Telula? If that's better. Whatever you want"  
With how hard it was coming down, there was no way that he was letting Lance out in this weather   
"The sofa's fine"  
Releasing more of the same calling sea scent, Lance kissed his cheek  
"Good. I love you. I love you and you're not stupid or silly, or anything remotely like that, so stop thinking you are"  
"How do you know I am?"  
"You're doing that brow scrunchy frowny thing you do. First you get embarrassed, then you get mad at yourself, then you get down on yourself, and finally, you clam up and overthink it. I know you, babe. I'm telling you there's nothing to be embarrassed or angry about, so come back to the sofa for me. I think it's time I played pillow"  
"I don't mind..."  
"I know you don't, but maybe I want to hold my cute boyfriend for a change, plus, I bet the whole time I was sleeping, you were being poked in the back by a spring?"  
Huffing at his husband, everything Lance had said been right  
"How do you know about the spring?"  
Grinning, Lance started waddling them back towards the front door backwards   
"I might have been the one to dislodge it. I was playing superheroes with Luis and jump tackled him. It hasn't been the same since"  
"You broke the sofa?"  
"She's part of the family. Mami kept wanting to get rid of her, but we have so many good memories that us kids said no"

Keith deflated against his husband. When he'd seen those photos of Lance's blank smile, he'd sworn to make this the best Christmas of his husband's life. He'd just freaked out, pretty much thrown Lance off of him and run out the front of the house like a nut job. He'd hit the "getting down" stage of coping. Hearing how happy Lance was, how normal kids were, it twinged uncomfortably inside of him. He wasn't jealous... not at Lance... it was more like he was jealous of the whole world that his foster parents couldn't get their act together. One time all he'd done was step over the sofa to stop two other kids from bashing each other with game controllers and he'd been backhanded so hard he'd tasted blood.

"Keith... shhh, it's ok. It's ok. You're ok... oh, shit... Kosmo"

Walking straight back into Kosmo, the pair of them nearly tripped up. Keith hadn't realised the memory had left him shaking like he was still the kid who's just lost his dad. Swallowing hard, he pushed his face hard into the curve of Lance's neck, seeking the comfort only his husband could give him  
"Sorry..."  
"No. There's nothing to be sorry about. If you're saying sorry over being the biggest doofiest most protective husband in the universe, then I'm confused as hell. If you're saying sorry over emotions springing up that you can't control, then I have like 10 zillion quiznaks full of sorries to say"  
"Can we talk somewhere?"  
"Rachel's room is the spare room right now. She moved into my old room, and Luis and Lisa live in the townhouse. With everyone downstairs, no one will disturb us"  
"Ok..."

Led up the stairs to Rachel's old room, the pink starry plaque on the door still said her name. With a soft creak, the door opened to reveal a room that was still mostly pink, other than a purple wall on the side the double window was  
"Yeah. She has terrible taste. I mean, can you imagine bringing your boyfriend home to this? Sorry it's tiny"

Keith didn't care that the room was tiny, it felt safer because it was. Two single beds and small dresser occupied the space, not that he got to see much of it before Lance was pushing back the covers on the closest single bed and drawing him down to lay along top of him. Whining at being left out, Kosmo climbed up to squish himself up on the end of the bed near their feet. Letting him calm enough to talk, Lance pulled the two thick blankets over them, then went about massaging his scalp with his fingertips as he waited for Keith to talk. Unsure where to start, the half-Galra hoped his husband would be able to make sense of what he was trying to say.

"The day my dad died, I was waiting for him... We lived in that shack, in the middle of the desert, so school was ages away but he still made me go every day. I remember because we were talking about space heroes and I said my dad was cooler because he was a firefighter... He was stupidly brave, especially knowing that there was this whole galactic war going on... When the end of the day came, all the kids teased me because he wasn't there and because I didn't have a mum like everyone else. They always teased me about that... dad and I would get into fights because I didn't understand... I thought I was wrong or bad... and that's why she wasn't there. He loved me, but he wasn't always the best with words... I waited and waited... then it started raining. I could smell smoke on the air and thought he was busy... but he'd always been very clear about waiting near the gates... so I waited... It was the middle of the night before I started walking home. One of his coworkers had remembered that I existed and had been looking for me. They told me he was brave and that as the building was coming down, he said my name... it... it was so bad... I didn't understand how he could die. He made my lunch that morning. He kisses me on top of my head and told me he was proud... and then he was gone forever..."

He hated talking about it. Seeing it with his mother had been so much easier because she'd been there to help him work through it. But having someone there didn't mean the trauma didn't rear its ugly head from time to time. He'd thought he wanted to talk about this... but now it all felt a bit too much. Sniffling, he shook his head   
"I can't..."  
"Babe, it's alright. I know, remember. I know. I'm so sorry about your dad... he missed out on seeing how amazing you are... and I know he'd be so very proud of you"  
"How do you know that?"  
"Because I'm proud of you. Every single tick of every single day. Even when we fight or stuff. I'm proud of you. We might not be parents, but I know for a fact you'd make the most amazing father in the universe... I could only have made it this far with you. Honestly. If you can't talk about it, then don't force it for me. You had a scare, and that's ok. I still love my "mullet-haired samurai" just as much as did when I woke up this morning, and just as much as I'm going to for the rest of our lives"  
"I don't want to be alone..."  
"I promise I won't leave you alone, if you promise not to leave me alone"  
"As if I could do that"  
"Then it's a promise. We'll talk when you're ready, and I know you'll tell me when you are"  
"It's a promise, sharpshooter"  
Lance let out a small chuckle, Keith holding him tighter as he tried to calm the tears that wanted to keep pouring  
"Good. I love you, Keith. We're not those kids anymore. Not the kids that were sent off into space. We're adults and stuff. We've got our whole lives together to talk things through... and I have no plans of leaving you. You'd fall apart without me, I know it"  
"More like you'd fall apart without me"  
"Yeah, I can't deny that. Everything's still moving so quiznakking fast, but I'm starting to really trust in you not going anywhere. I'm really trusting in you. It's being built up between us. Some days my head is just... I don't know... but I've got you. You haven't abandoned me yet, so why the hell would I abandon you? Or something like that kind of thing. I'm getting pretty sleep again. It's like I'm made to hold you and sleep"  
Keith let out a wet snort. He hated crying. He hated feeling so weak and vulnerable, yet somehow, in front of Lance, he seemed not so bad  
"Go to sleep already idiot, you're rambling"  
"Oh, noes... Zzzzz Zzzz"  
Making fake snoring noises, both of them laughed far too hard at Lance's antics, but let the room fall to silence once their laughter passed, simply enjoying holding each other as the storm outside raged on.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoots second update out there... Hello?

For the next two days after the storm, Keith was roped away to help with the clean up in town with his team, Marco and Jorge, while Lance spent the morning with his siblings and his own team cleaning up and doing chores around the farm, before getting into the Christmas spirit. All things considered, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Keith had gotten pretty jumpy when the weather had turned worse around the middle of the night, unable to settle down properly due to each loud crash of thunder. After how badly his husband's instincts had been affected, Lance hadn't wanted to separate from him. He wanted to keep Keith close, show him there was nothing to fear, that no Galra ships were about to destroy everything his family held dear. Instead, he was on the team helping prepare for the Christmas party in town now that it was Christmas Eve. Being the biggest of them Luis would dress up as Santa and hand out presents to the kids from town. The rest of them would dress up as elves, and help to keep the peace. Dozens of children hyped up on sugar was bound to get rowdy. It wasn't helped by the copious amounts of Christmas cookies they were baking. With his home town trying to return to normal, they'd picked the tradition up again, now including aliens that had chosen to make Earth their home. Lance was somewhat ashamed to admit he'd spent the day drinking himself stupid as he'd stupidly mentally planned all these Christmases and holidays with Allura. All his stupid plans had wound up meaning nothing, Christmas even spent throwing up all over the bathroom. At the time he didn't want help... or want to admit he'd needed help. This year, he was going to be the best goddamn elf in the world. He'd already slipped a small present to Luis to hand out to Keith, and Marco had found a pair of reindeer ears for Kosmo to wear. Everything was going perfect. He just needed an excuse to slip off and change before Keith came back.

Pulling out the tray of gingerbread... they were supposed to be gingerbread men, but "men" would be a very loose interpretation. They were more like gingerbread blobs. With little blobby legs and hands. He'd told Rachel she was adding too much self-raising flour, especially when there was no self-raising flour in the recipe. Maybe if they got creative with the icing sugar, they could pass them off as gingerbread aliens. Glancing up at the clock, it was nearing three o'clock. This Christmas thing would start at 5, run until about 8. Then they'd head clean up, head to the townhouse before midnight mass. His mami had assured him that he didn't need to come to Christmas morning mass, or midnight mass, but Keith had never done the church thing before, so he really wanted to share it with his husband at least once. He also wanted his team to experience what it was like in their church. The aunties wouldn't be at midnight mass, no, they'd be coming for lunch with their dreary expressions and judgmental gazes, which only served to make night mass more appealing.

"Lance, stop looking at the clock. Keith will be back when he comes back"  
Rolling his eyes at Rachel, it wasn't as if he didn't know that   
"Leave him alone. He's a married man now"  
Poking his tongue at Daehra, Daehra was attempting to teach Lucteal how to work a piping bag with no clue what she was doing either   
"And whose fault is that? No, I want to go take a shower and change before Keith comes back"  
"Don't you usually shower with him?"  
Rachel choked as she went to laugh at Daehra, Marco looking up from the gingerbread house he was making to roll his eyes  
"We don't need to know about what our little brother does with his husband. But Lance is right, we need to start getting changed. Why don't you go ahead, it'll give us time to question your team about what else you get up to"  
"Like you didn't do that the other night over monopoly. I don't know if I'm ok with you all conspiring against me"  
Daehra looked alarmed  
"We are not conspiring"  
"It's a joke, Dae. Rachel, you murdered this batch. You can ice them, I'm going to shower and change"  
"Your costumes in the..."  
"The living room. I know. I'll shower and come right back"  
"Why don't you just shower here?"  
Lance felt his cheeks dust red. There was a very good reason he wasn't showering and changing in the house  
"Because they'll want hot water when they get back. Try not to destroy the house while I'm gone. And don't let Rachel near the dough mix..."

Throwing the comment back over his shoulder, Lance rushed from the kitchen to grab the shirt and hat from the living room. It wasn't really a costume. Just a green shirt and pointed hat with ears... but Lance had more than that planned. He and Keith would have tonight after mass all the way through until roughly 10 am the following day. So, he was a man with a plan that he knew might very well backfire... He didn't know what his husband would think, though he was hoping he wouldn't laugh at him. Not when it'd taken all the courage he'd been able to muster at the time to put his plan into motion. All he could do was roll the dice and the play the hand he was given... and if things went to quiznak, he'd be taking the first available wormhole off Earth, changing his name again, then going into hiding for the rest of his life which wouldn't be all that long given he'd be dead from embarrassment. He'd already left all his presents under the tree for the following day. They'd all have something to remember him by... if this all went horribly wrong.

*  
Manual labour felt good. The simple process of moving something from point A to B. It was easy and repetitive, yet he and his team were making a difference. The storm had hit the town harder than the farm. Houses had lost fences, gates, trees... but thankfully no one had been harmed. With four healthy part Galra chipping in, the work flew by. Streets cleared and rubbish taken out of town to be dumped. The way everyone came together warmed Keith's heart. Lance came from a strong and loving community... if not a slightly nosy one. Intergalactic media had shown up at the rumour of the former Black Paladin of Voltron was helping a small Cuban community after a storm... the very same community that the former Red Paladin came from. Whispers grew from mouth to mouth, before Keith knew what was happening, he was being asked to confirm rumours that he and Lance were dating. Without Lance there, all Keith could do was dodge the questions as his team hung him out to dry.

When the cleanup work was done, Keith found himself somehow assisting in setting up for a Christmas party he'd never expected to be attending. He'd never heard of a town where someone dressed up as Santa and handed gifts to the children. Some were provided by the parents of the children, and other stores donated for poorer families. With all the love in the air, all Keith wanted to do was get home to Lance. They'd left the farm before nine, and now it was nearing 4. They'd worked all day. Every tick he thought he'd have the chance to check in with Lance, he was being summoned off to do something else. He'd probably annoyed his husband to his wit's end as it was. The storm had really messed with his head, he hadn't been able to leave Lance's side that night... the night when he'd almost confessed the horrors of all those bad foster homes. Lance had held him tightly, both of them sleeping through dinner only to creep down in the middle of the night in a mess of soft laughter. That hadn't lasted long when the thunder had started up again, Keith dragging Lance back up to Rachel's old room to lock down the situation and make sure no one could get close to his husband.

It was half-past four by the time they finished up. Instead of returning to the farm, Lance and the others drove in to meet them all at the townhouse where Luis and Lisa lived. His husband looked both ridiculous and kind of cute as he marched around in an elf outfit giving orders. Tag teaming with them, they barely saw each other for longer than a few minutes before Lance was off to the party and he was sent to shower and change, relieved to find that he wasn't going to be wearing the same outfit as his husband. He most certainly wasn't an elf...

Dressed in black jeans and a white button-up shirt, Keith felt overdressed until they arrived at the party. Most of the children were dressed up, with the girls in all sorts of pretty dresses, and boys with their hair slicked back by fussing parents of all different kinds of races. He didn't think aliens would be so into Christmas... Lance was already standing by a dressed-up Luis who was posing for photos with children, by the looks of it his husband was taking details of everyone getting a photo. This was all something he had no experience with. He didn't know what he was supposed to do, or how he could help. He'd been working all day, stopping now seemed kind of a letdown... besides, if Lance's family was running all of this, didn't that mean he got a job too? 

Jumping at the feeling of a wet nose brushing against his hand, Keith sighed as he looked down to see a sad-looking Kosmo with reindeer ears on. His wolf looked confused and scared by all the kids around. Most of them would never have seen a wolf in their lives, let alone a space wolf  
"Keith? What's wrong mijo?"  
For the second time in as many ticks, Keith jumped. This time as Lance's mother carried over a beer to him  
"Oh, hey Miriam... mami. Sorry, did it look like something was wrong?"  
"You have been standing in the same spot for some time now. Doesn't Lance look cute?"  
Lance looked like a lanky idiot as he waved his arms, talking to one of the parents of the kid on Luis's lap  
"Yeah. Is there anything I can do to help?"  
"No, no honey. You relax tonight. Lance is sending the photos Marco is taking to the families, and Rachel has the gift bags organised"  
"Oh..."  
What did he do then?  
"You don't do well with relaxing, do you? Here, you take your beer and go sit yourself down with your team. They're not used to Earth Christmases are they?"  
He wasn't either.  
"Um... Mami, I don't know what to say. The only recent Christmases I've had was with Shiro and his ex-fiancé... and his brother. I've never done all of this"

He'd been too old for all this "Christmas magic" business. With Shiro being sick, Adam would let them take their hoverbikes out for a few hours then it was home, Chinese takeaway and bad movies. Adam usually had work to catch up on, so did Shiro... so it was a weird kind of Christmas, without Santa... and cookies. It'd been everything to him at the time... but not what he'd call a true family Christmas like Lance would... but maybe it was? And this was just another type of family Christmas?

"In that case, why don't you go stand with Lance if that makes you more comfortable. Once the photos are over, Marco will hand Lance presents to be handed out, he'll mark them off his list and hand them to Lu-Santa. All the kids will sit in a semi-circle in front of Santa, waiting for their names to be called out. The packs of cookies are for the children while us adults sit and eat, over where your teams are now. You did a wonderful job helping with the cleanup. Jorge was bragging about you to his friends"  
Lance's father bragged about him?  
"He... he did?"  
"Of course, mijo. He is very proud of you and we're both... so grateful that you have been there for our Lance. You've given us back our son"  
Now his awkwardness level had gone up a step...  
"Lance did all the hard work"  
"We all need a little help, heavens knows Lance is quite stubborn over all the wrong things. He's so used to placing everyone ahead of himself. It's nice to see him finally pursuing something for himself"  
"I think I was the one who did that was me"  
"I'm certainly glad you did. Oooh, he's looking at us. I better let you go. I'm supposed to be over there... somewhere. I don't remember now. Dear me..."

Rushing off, Miriam really did seem confused as to what she was going to do before coming to see him. With nothing else to do, and a staring husband, Keith patted his leg to tell Kosmo to follow as he walked over to join his husband... where he once again stood awkwardly. Lance was busy and he didn't want to interrupt... But quiznak... his husband looked hot as hell in work mode... and cute as hell when helped kids out of Luis's lap. Lance was amazing with children, his smile not wavering as he sent them off back to their parents with a smile. Would it be weird if he and Lance had kids someday? That was the whole reason Allura has changed Lance's biology for him... And quiznak, the beer he was drinking must have more alcohol than he realised in it because he definitely wasn't surrounded by kids while thinking about having kids with his husband. Nope. He wasn't doing that... Not about how adorable Lance was as a child, with those wide blue eyes... and that perpetually sun-kissed skin... Nope. Nooo... now he was blushing... Stupid beer. This was all his husband's fault...

As Lance turned to him, their eyes met. A cheeky smile as Lance waved his hand in front of his face   
"Hello? Earth to Keith? You ok there?"  
Catching Lance's hand, Keith couldn't help himself as he moved to capture the Cuban's lips in a loving kiss. Laughing as it broke, Lance's eyes seemed to sparkle  
"There's kids watching"  
"Sorry... I couldn't help myself"  
"It's better than you standing there looking lost. If you want to sit down, I'll be up here for a while longer"  
"No. I'm good. Plus, someone has to protect the reindeer"  
"Ahhh. Kosmo didn't look too happy with his headband"  
"It's probably all the kids. You saw how he reacted to Annla"  
"I didn't think about that... my poor puppa"

"Oi! Lovebirds, get back to work!"  
Lance gave a snorted laugh, turning to poke his tongue out at Marco before turning back to him   
"You heard the boss. If you want to go sit with everyone, that's fine. I'll be right here"  
Again... Again he had nothing to do. He wasn't sure if Lance was being polite and attempting so send him away, or if he didn't mind either way  
"No. No brow scrunching. I just don't want you being bored"  
"I'm not bored. You... make a cute elf"  
"I know... hmm, now that I think about it, you should definitely go sit down... We've got church tonight, and I might have something planned for after that"  
"You have something planned?"  
Lance shifted, looking a little flustered as he looked down at his holopad   
"Yeah, so... go rest. Plus, you're really hot and it's starting to distract me"  
"Fine. But I don't like doing nothing. If you need help, you'll call me over, won't you?"  
"Yeah, babe. Now shoo. Marco is still glaring at us for interrupting his system"  
Kissing Lance's cheek, Keith then forced himself away. A flustered Lance was simply too alluring  
"I can't wait to find out what you have planned"

Sitting with the remainder of their combined teams, Ezor had so far made a kid cry by popping her gum too loudly. Acxa wound up holding Lisa and Luis youngest, a pouty toddler by the name of Juana who kept grabbing for her ears. Zethrid seemed to be embracing her unknown maternal side as she repeatedly commented on the kids receiving their presents. Her words were gruff when comparing Galra gifts of weaponry to the toys from Earth. Lucteal growing bored of her and calling her out on the feelings he was picking up from her. It's promptly brought Ezor gum popping to the end. Zak was typing away on his laptop ignoring the stares from the children who'd never seen an alien-like him, though, to be fair, Keith hadn't seen anyone else like Zak out there. Missing from the group were Daehra and Tobias who'd been roped into playing with some kids and a soccer ball. Tobias was so huge that he could easily block the ball from being stolen, leaving him confused as to how he was playing the game wrong. Everything was going well until Keith heard his name called out... by Luis. Sitting in his Santa's throne, both Luis and a chorus of kids were all staring at him  
"Former Black Paladin Keith! Keith my boy, where are you?! Santa has a present for you"  
Taking his beer from him, Lisa appeared out of nowhere   
"Up you go"  
"Me? What?"  
"Santa called your name silly"  
"I'm an adult"  
"And everyone is staring at you... go on"

But... He was an adult. What the quiznak was happening here? And why was his heart doing all kinds of weird things as he nervously walked towards Luis? In the corner of his eye, he saw his husband shoot him the thumbs up. That little shit. He wanted to strangle him. God. Why was he so nervous? He was literally getting a present from Lance's brother... Stumbling over his own feet, "Santa" laughed as he approached   
"Keith, my boy! Santa has heard all about your hard work. Come sit in Santa's lap"  
What now? What... just because most of the kids had to pose for photos, didn't mean he had to... yet, when he reached Luis, he found himself pulled into his lap with one hand and a pressed pushed against him with another, then Marco popped up to take the photo  
"How about it kids, Black Paladin Keith! Now Keith, what is it you want for Christmas?"  
Whispering so only Luis could hear, he was blushing hard at all the attention  
"To murder your brother"  
Luis snorted with laughter, nearly breaking character in front of the staring children. Coughing and clearing his throat, the man waved his free hand   
"Hear that boys and girls! Keith says he wants us all to be happy! Now off you go, Keith!"

Sent back to his seat, Keith was in a daze. Laughing happily at him, Ezor went to swipe his present only for Lucteal to stop her  
"Lance picked his gifts for Keith carefully. Leave him alone"  
Lucteal sticking up for him was some kind of Christmas miracle in its self  
"Keith, are you alright?"  
Placing his beer back in front of him, Lisa placed her hand on his shoulder. Looking up at the woman, he didn't know what to say  
"What the quiznak just happened?"  
"Lance has as in with Santa. I heard him telling the big man you've been good this year"  
It still wasn't quite registering. Something in his brain was mad at Lance. Something in his brain felt embarrassed over being called up. And something in the back of his brain was also irrationally saying "Holy quiznak, Santa knows my name". These three tiny thoughts went a long way in explaining why his eyes were wet. Dropping his gaze back to the present in front of him, he stared at the sparkly red paper, nearly tied with a green ribbon  
"Go ahead and open it. Your elf has a few more duties to do. Merry Christmas, Keith"  
"I... thank you. Merry Christmas Lisa"

It wasn't a huge present. No bigger than a shoebox. Keith's hands shaking slightly as he tugged the ribbon undone, well aware that more than a few eyes were on him. Kids. Team members. A confused Kosmo. Adults he didn't know. Probably Lance if had the bravery to turn around. Pushing the paper back, he laughed at the vintage handheld game console. He could remember being a kid, when these were as popular as hell. Of course, all the other kids at school had them. He'd called them stupid, and babies for playing with them to hide his own jealousy...

"What is it?"  
Peering over his shoulder, Lisa laughed   
"I remember those! Luis was bitter for years that he had to share one between the five of them. I wonder how he got his hands on it"  
"I have no idea. I thought most things like that were destroyed?"  
Keith may have been ever so very awestruck as he pulled the game console box out of the box Lance had wrapped it in. Undoing the end, his awe only grew as he slid the plastic packaging out to reveal the red console. This was better than good. It was... He had no words   
"Wow. It looks in amazing condition..."

As Acxa leaned in to suss out his present, Keith pushed it back into the box, snatching it up to his chest   
"Nope. It's mine. I'm not sharing"  
"It's just a game console"  
"It's not just anything. Do you have any idea how popular these were? You were like the coolest kid ever if you had one"  
"Keith is right. Even I remember them. It must have... what? 10-15 years ago?"  
Nodding, Keith stared down at his precious present. How could Lance possibly know? He didn't even know he was still holding a grudge over never one, not until he finally got one for himself... He needed Lance. He was about to cry... Shiro had loved him. They were brothers until the very end of time... but Lance... Lance truly understood and loved him... As far as he could remember, he'd never sat on "Santa's" knee... or been to a party like this... or... No. He needed to find his husband  
"Keith, are you alright?"  
"He's fine. He's really happy right now. It's kind of annoying"  
Lucteal sounded bored, Keith not giving two shits if he was being rude. Pushing his chair back, he kept his present close to him as rose and slipped past Lisa.

Standing near the throne still, Lance wasn't expecting the near-crash tackle as Keith hit him with enough force to knock him back into the decorated tree behind the throne. Sniffling, he held his gift to his chest with one hand and looped his free arm around his husband's shoulders, fingers gripping Lance's hair as he buried his face against his shoulder. Slowly, his husband wrapped his arms around him  
"Babe, what's wrong? You're crying"  
"Thank you... I... thank you. I love you so fucking much... I..."  
Nuzzling into his hair, Lance pressed kisses just above his ear  
"I love you too, Keith. I love you, and you are more than welcome. I was a little scared when you came charging over here"  
"I... all the kids..."  
Lance laughed softly  
"I wanted to give you good Christmas memories..."  
"No... yes... but... I never had this as a kid. I really wanted one, but if I asked... there was no point"  
"Oh, babe. Hey. I had to share one with my siblings. When I saw them in an Earth store, I nearly couldn't believe it. I found myself buying red things, but I was always thinking of you and that red jacket. I'm happy you like it. I hope you don't mind I kind of opened it to make sure it worked"  
Keith hadn't even considered the fact that it might not, but knowing it did open a whole new world of opportunities  
"I... thank you. It's perfect"  
"You're perfect. You're also squashing an elf in front of children"  
"Oh!"

Keith's face was a mess when he stepped back so Lance was no longer squashed against the tree. With his hand still on the back of Lance's neck, he was forced to step forward. Keith sniffling loudly as he tried to calm down  
"You're a mess babe"  
"Sorry"  
Letting his hold go, Lance moved his hands to his face, wiping the tear tracks down his cheeks with a smile  
"No. I'm happy you're so happy. I wasn't sure... I thought it might be too dorky"  
"It is the perfect amount of dorky. You're the perfect amount of dorky"  
"Merry Christmas, Keith"  
"Thank you... I got you something too. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow now"  
Lance raised an eyebrow  
"You think this is your only Christmas gift?"  
It wasn't? Moving his head slightly, it was Keith's turn to be confused  
"You mean..."  
"Oh, babe. You literally married into the wrong family. 5 of us. 6 with Lisa. Mami and papi. Your team. My team. My grandparents... oooh, you haven't met pop-pop. He's going to try to give you tequila, and my Abuela. She's likely to stab me with her knitting needle for not introducing you sooner... They always give us 10 peso notes, with a cheeky smile and a wink. So I don't know if you count that as a gift... but babe, you need to prepare for tomorrow"

Presents. Actual presents from multiple people. His mind couldn't comprehend. Sure, not all homes had been awful, but those memories faded faster than the bad ones  
"I didn't... I mean..."  
"I know you got gifts for Mami and papi. I was there. And when we got the gifts for the others. I promise you, they know it's from both of us and that you went to the effort of asking me. Seriously, Marco is so easy you could give him a sock and he'd be happy"

"Marco also takes large donations of unmarked bills. Lance, can I have the holopad? So I can start sending out those photos?"  
Marco's voice came out of nowhere, Lance sighing as he turned his head to look at his brother   
"An elf's work is never done. It's by the throne. I set up the facial recognition program, so all they should all be sorted into who is who for those who got second photos taken"  
"I hope I didn't get any of your ugly mug in there. It'd break the whole system"  
Keith growled as Marco insulted his husband. Laughing, Lance just shook his head  
"I'm too beautiful for this. Come on, babe. Let's go join the others?"  
Keith didn't want to join the others. He wanted to rush back to the Telula and play his game... buuut... he had to at least pretend to be an adult until they got home   
"Yeah... yeah..."  
"Don't worry, I'm not going to take your game away. I've been watching you all night and I had to wait all day to hold you again. Right now, I want to get off my feet and wrap my arms around you"  
It wasn't Marco's fault he was so forgettable. All it took was Lance's big blue eyes and warm hold  
"You guys are gross! I'm telling Mami I saw Keith kissing an elf in the bushes if you don't get out the way already"  
"You want to see something extra gross?"

Marco didn't stand a chance. Lance was in a shit-stirring mood. Without warning, his husband jumped up and wrapped his legs around his waist, holding himself there as Keith was left to scramble to slip his free arm under his husband's arse to hold him. With both hands on his cheeks, the kiss was deep but over too fast. Probably so as not to scare the children. Keeping himself stable, Lance didn't move once it broke and Keith was confused all over again  
"Did I do something wrong?"  
"No. I jumped without thinking. I was worried if I moved I'd damage your present"  
Lance had tried to curve around the box, even if he'd jumped up without thinking. Pulling it up to sit higher against his chest, he smiled knowing that it wasn't damaged   
"I think we're good"  
"I think we should sit. I've broken Marco"  
"That I can do"  
"Oooh. My big strong husband..."  
"Damn straight"  
"Actually, you're gay..."  
Giggling his head off, Keith could only roll his eyes at Lance as he started back to where he'd been sitting with everyone else before. 

This new family Christmas thing was weird. It was scary... daunting and left him kind of nauseous with anxiety when he stopped to think about it too much, but somehow Lance was pulling down walls he didn't know still existed and easing his soul in only a way his dorky arse husband could.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmmm... those who know my writing know I enjoy a good smut scene... mmm... you have been warned ;p

Church was a very different experience for Keith again. Much like he'd never seen a Christmas party like the one he'd they'd held for the community, he'd never sat through a whole church service before. Ushered along the pew by Lance's mother, Keith was confused as quiznak as he sat between Lance and Marco with his team filling the pew behind them, while in front of them small bibles sat on the recess shelf of the pew in front of them. Lance was quick to take one, so Keith copied in confusion. He didn't know church etiquette. He didn't know what to expect from a service, or from the older looking man that Lance informed him was the pastor. Marco seemed ready to sleep, having been poked, prodded and fussed over by Miriam, then made to walk the few hundred metres from the townhouse to the church. Keith had Lance for that. To poke and fuss, and to pepper kisses to his lips as he did. Not that Miriam did that to Marco, but she did lick the pad of her thumb and scrub at some stain near the man's lips. Dinner had been loud and fun, his precious game console right next to him thanks to Lance's foresight to pack their spare clothes into a backpack. When they'd returned to the table at the Christmas party, no one questioned him over what "that" had been. He didn't know if Lisa had had a word to them all, or if they'd realised that maybe it was something deeply personal between him and his husband. Whatever it was, he was still in a ridiculously happy state of shock by it all as the midnight mass started.

With most of the mass in Spanish, Keith was out of his depth. Lance did a running translation of what was happening, his hand holding Keith's firmly through the whole thing, even when they had to get up and sing, then sit, then get up again. He wasn't sure why they didn't sit and sing, but it wasn't something he questioned. Lance's family... his family... were people of faith and he respected that. The half-Galra was also enjoying seeing this new side to Lance. Lance who knew the words to the hymns, and the Lance who didn't care if they were in the "House of God" as he held his hand proudly in front of everyone. Anyone who said Lance wasn't strong was a damn liar. His husband had more facets to him the world's largest diamond.

When the service ended, Keith was left with an oddly warming feeling. A feeling that the whole church congregation seemed to share. His whole body was relaxed as he leaned into Lance, politely smiling and shaking hands when he was introduced to other people Lance seemed to have known for most of his life. His husband was fast to translate everything he needed to know, but Keith was happy to let him do most of the talking as his mind was already on heading back to the Telula so he could snuggle with Lance and play his game. Lance teasing him over it as they left the church. It felt like Lance had read his mind, as they kissed to the sound of the midnight bells which tolled as the service ended. Keith couldn't help himself. He didn't know if he was supposed to be kissing Lance in front of the church, but the moment felt right. The smile on Lance's lips, the way he nuzzled into his cheek and held him close. The affectionate whispers shared between the two of them like they were in their own little universe... The soft snort and reminder the console contained 50 preloaded games on it. Keith had no idea where to even begin... but he intended to start the moment they were alone... Lance seemed alright with it. His husband said he'd expected Keith to be "pretty handsy in their bedroom tonight". Which could only mean he expected Keith to be up late gaming? Maybe Lance wanted to play games with him? He knew the team used to enjoy game nights on the castle, then the system migrated to Lance's room... about the same time things seemed to have started falling apart for his husband. If he could recreate the joy of game night for him... It'd be a small way to thank Lance for all the love he'd brought into his life.

*  
Kissing Keith's forehead, Lance told him to get comfortable in their bed, while he went off to brush his teeth and take his injection for the night. Oblivious to Lance's plan, Keith did just that. Stripping down to his boxers because he was too excited to redress, the half-Galra settled himself down with his game console, the redness so much cooler now that he didn't have prying eyes on him, and he could really appreciate the gift. No one was taking it away from him. None of those snot-nose kids from the party were there to pry. It was his. All his. And he could scream with the giddiness it brought. Nope. No. No. He was a grown arse man. He wasn't going to roll around on their bed with excitement simply over a game console. Maybe just a little... It wasn't like Lance was there to see him.

Rolling around on their bed, Keith proudly held his game console away from him safely as it booted up. The dated graphics tugging at his heart. It was amazing how much technology could change in a few years. About to roll back to his side, the door to their room opened, Lance letting out a snort at the sight of him acting like a child  
"See something you like, babe?"  
Staring at his game, Keith nodded quickly   
"I love it..."  
"Uh, babe... I love you and all, but that's not quite what I had in mind for tonight"

Keith was confused. He'd thought they'd settled on this? Rolling back to his side of their bed, he turned around as he sat up, his game slipping from between his hands to land in his lap at the sight of his husband. Amethyst eyes widening as his brain shorted out  
"What... the... holy... wow..."  
Shyly, Lance padded softly over to their bed. The Cuban crawling up to kneel with both hands on his hips, as Keith flushed all the way down to his dick. Wearing a soft white lace bustier with a small red bow tied to the right strap, a white lace T-backed thong, one of those waist suspender skirt things that held his white stockings up and a smirk on his lips, Keith was screaming internally. He wanted to rip them all. He wanted to strip Lance naked and fuck him up against the closest available surface. The contrast between the white and Lance's skin... the way his muscles moved as he sat back on his heels with legs slightly spread. Spread enough to tease him without showing too much  
"Soooo... See something you like?"  
"Fucking... fuck..."  
"Let me take care of you, my husband"

As a wave of Lance's aroused and wet scent met his nose, Keith hurried to place his game out the way carefully on the bedside table. He'd barely placed the console down before Lance was climbing into his lap, hands grabbing his face as lips smash into his. Desperately Keith kissed back, his hands on Lance's hips as he growled into his mouth. Rocking up, his lover let out a sinful moan, stocking covered legs rubbing against his as Lance wriggled against him.

This wasn't going to work. He needed more of Lance. He felt like he was about to explode if he didn't get into his husband as soon as possible, as sexy as it sounded. Seeing Lance looking like that... Keith was sure he'd never popped a boner faster in his life. He hadn't been horny at all. Not until Lance had walked into their room looking like a goddamn porn star. His fucking long legs... those pretty, delicate stockings. The hickeys he'd sucked the other day... all of this... this was his. Lance was his... Pushing him back onto their bed, Lance let out a moan as Keith caged him with his body, teeth tugging lightly on his left earlobe as stocking covered legs wrapped around his waist, arms slung over Keith's shoulders as Lance angled and exposed his neck for him. Dragging his teeth off his earlobe, Keith rolled his hips as he kissed his way down Lance's neck, before remembering he'd much rather be kissing Lance's mouth. Mewing into the kiss, Lance's hands tugged at the band of Keith's boxer briefs, Keith grunting his annoyance. He wasn't done kissing Lance yet. Impatiently, Lance bent upwards, far too flexible for his mind to understand. He didn't know how to do this sex stuff  
"Jesus baby... what are you doing?"  
"Getting you naked... been thinking about this all day"  
Keith's heart skipped a beat. Lance had been thinking about this? About him... about them... Taking his weight with his right hand, his left less than gracefully yanked his underwear down to his knees, Lance letting out a soft giggle as he struggled to get them the rest of the way off. Growling at the sound, he dove in for another kiss, as the accursed items finally ended up around an ankle, then hefted Lance up to sit in his laps as he sat back on heels much like his husband had done. Bringing his hands back to Lance's hips, he deserted kisses for biting, nipping his way along Lance's shoulder as his dick rubbed against the lace covering his lover's taint   
"Keith..."  
"What do you want, baby?"  
"Want you... want to ride you.."  
"Are you sure?"  
Lance nodded quickly, pushing at his shoulders so he'd hurry up  
"Yeah... I've been thinking about this for days... want to... want to have sex with the man I love"

The rush of hunger in his belly turned to a rush of affection. Lifting Lance a little higher, Keith untangled his legs, so Lance was straddling his lap as he lowered him to a half-kneeling position where Lance could keep his face against his neck. Running his hand down the back of the thong, the fabric around his lover's opening was soaking wet, his forefinger pushing the fabric to rub against the ring of muscle as he teased at it  
"Did you prep yourself?"  
Lance nodded, legs shaking as Keith did as he pleased  
"Did you think about me?"  
"Yes... god yes!"  
Lance's voice cracked as Keith let his finger slip off the slip of fabric and breach Lance ever so slightly. With little resistance, he tugged with the tip before adding his middle finger, and delving deeper. Letting out a cry, Lance's hands scrambled to grip his arms   
"Did you finger yourself and imagine it was me?"  
"Yes... was... wanted to... wanted to be good for you"  
Shit...  
"You're so wet for me"  
"All for you. No one else is ever going to touch me again... no one but my husband"  
"That's right. You're mine"  
Pushing his fingers up deeper, Lance cried out against him. Starting to finger fuck his husband, wetness rolled down into his palm as Lance grew louder, the back of the thong growing annoying, but Keith really wanted to fuck Lance and make him come in the delicate item. Adding three fingers, he waited for Lance to adjust around him, before working to stretch and abuse his sweet spot   
"Keith... I can't take much more... hurry up and put it in already"  
"You ready?"  
"Yes... please..."

Lubing himself up with Lance's wetness, Keith hooked the thong back with his thumb to move it across to rest on his arse cheek. Taking it slow, he could smell Lance's fear as he bottomed out with a long groan. Simply because Lance was wet and horny as hell, didn't mean his trauma couldn't rear its ugly head at any moment  
"Babe?"  
"Lay back for me... want to ride you"  
"Ok"  
What else could he say to that? Laying back, he let his hands run up to his husband's hips, Lance shyly rising until just the tip of Keith's dick remained buried, before letting himself drop with a pleasured sob  
"Baby? Hey..."  
"So fucking big... I feel full"  
Rolling his hips Lance gave a nod like he was mentally confirming something mentally. Raising himself again, he slowly worked up his rhythm as Keith tried to keep from coming too soon, moans and growls spilling from his lips as pleasure crashed through him. Lance was so hot and wet. He could feel each roll and clench of his lover's inner walls, as he worked to fuck himself without abandon, Keith rocking his own hips to meet every downward thrust that sent more wetness spilling down his thighs. Letting his head loll back, Lance slid his hand down to his lace underwear, palming at the tenting rise that was turning the fabric translucent  
"Keith... Keith, I'm going to come..."  
"Not yet... I want to fuck you into our mattress from behind and make you scream"  
Lance was starting to tire, he was so close to coming that his rhythm was slipping. The way he was playing with himself was definitely from chasing his release  
"Do it... make me yours..."

Pushing Lance off him, Keith flipped him over and pulled him up onto his hands and knees with ease from his Galra strength. Ignoring the fact the thong back had slid back between the clefts of Lance's arse, Keith guided himself back into Lance's heat. Gripping his hips with bruising strength, Keith let his instincts flare, his dick thickening and ribbing as he fucked Lance as hard and as fast he could, his poor husband's arms giving out as Keith abused his arse recklessly. Feeling him starting to catch on Lance's walls, Lance let out a cry, clenching hard and all but sucking Keith's orgasm from his in a sudden wave. Trying to push himself as deep as he could, he rode out the hard throbbing pulses as he painted Lance's walls white with his seed. Fucking his over sensitive husband, Lance gave a choked cry as he came again, hand cupping his still covered dick as cum leaked through the lace. Fuck... he was still coming and all he wanted to do was flip Lance over and ride him as hard and as fast as he'd done just now. 

Putting his husband first, Keith pulled Lance up to sit in his lap, Lance letting his head loll back on Keith's shoulder as Keith's hands moved to Lance's groin, rubbing the impressive sodden mess that was now his underwear   
"Keeeeeith..."  
Whining his name, Keith forced his hand up to rest on Lance's belly instead of tormenting him with pleasure   
"You ok, babe?"  
"Mmm... I did it... feels good"  
Kissing his husband sweaty temple, Keith nuzzled into the spot as he peppered another half dozen kisses between his words  
"You are amazing. You know that right..."  
Letting out a small laugh, Lance moved his hand to rest over Keith's. Both of them were far too hot and sweaty as they came down from their highs   
"Was nervous as hell"  
"Babe... that was... fucking hot. But are you ok? I got... a little rough"  
A little rough was kind of an understatement. He'd been chasing his release so hard that if the bed hadn't been built in, he would have broken it with the strength of his thrusts   
"Mmm... I'm ok. Feeling the good kind of full... was so scared you'd laugh at me though"  
Keith was still coming, the intensity of the pulses had lessened to more or less weak bursts, so if Lance wanted full, he was definitely going to get full  
"Why would I laugh?"  
"Because I'm wearing lingerie?"  
"Seriously?"  
Lance hummed, his scent taking on a feared hue  
"No. Baby, that was... I don't think I've ever got so hard so fast in my life"  
"Are you sure?"

Laughing lightly, Keith slid his hand back down to the mess of Lance's underwear. This time slipping his hand under the fabric to grip his husband's half-hard erection. Whining at the contact, Keith dropped his head forward to nip at Lance's shoulder as he started to thumb at his husband's wet slit   
"I'm sure... more than sure. I want to push you down and ride this arse of yours all over again..."  
"Keeeeeith..."  
"Then I want to watch my cum dribbling out your arse, soaking this thong... wanna use my tongue to lick you clean..."  
Lance shuddered, clenching around him  
"Do you want me, baby? Want me to push you down and ride you?"  
Nodding, Lance blushed brilliantly. His face so warm that Keith swore he could feel the heat radiating   
"Only you... only you get to say and do this to me... only feels good when it's you"  
Keith's heart swelled with love, wrapping his left arm around his husband's waist, he held tight against him  
"No one else gets to touch you. No one else is going to touch you... not without my permission and not without your permission. This body is yours. You want me to stop and I'll stop. You want me to keep making a mess out of my drop-dead gorgeous husband, I'll give you everything I can"  
Lance let out a small noise that Keith didn't know how to translate. It wasn't a sob, or a moan, or even a groan, yet it sounded like all at once  
"Babe?"  
"From the front... can we... I want to see your face?"  
"Of course we can... I want you to feel as safe and comfortable as possible"  
"You make me safe... I want to do this... make sex a thing for us..."  
"And we will. But there's no need to rush it"  
"Can... we maybe... rush it a little tonight?"  
"You're such a dork..."  
"Mmm... I get it from you"  
"You're about to get a whole lot more from me"

With his dick still swollen and ribbed, he'd relied on Lance's flexibility as his husband turned on his lap. Laying Lance down beneath him, he took his time to properly shower his affections on his husband. Nipping from his collar bone down to the V of the bustier, his sharpened teeth let a trail of small bruises that fed his ego. He still wanted to tear the lingerie from his husband's body, but there was a certain aesthetic appeal to them against the white fabric and Lance's wonderful brown-toned skin. Smirking at himself as a new idea formed, he pulled the end of the red ribbon bow, unravelling the fabric with a mischievous look in his eyes   
"As nice as this is, there's another present here that I want"  
Not quite scowling at him, Lance was confused. Leaning back, his husband's stocking-clad legs were forced further open beneath him. Running his left hand down the Cuban's side, he used his thumb to lift the sodden lace away from Lance's. Still not understanding until the final moment, Keith tied the red ribbon securely around the base of his husband's penis, making sure the red bow was nice and neat   
"That's better. I'm going to save this present for after I've enjoyed my first one"  
Tucking Lance back into his underwear, he moved back up to cage his husband to kiss him slowly and deeply. By now his husband's underwear probably felt more uncomfortable than sexy, but if they were only going to mess it up further than he wanted to see how messy they could get.

Breaking the kiss, Keith started rolling his hips as he made his way back to tracing the lines of his lover. Lance had put on weight since they reunited. He'd dropped weight pretty drastically when he'd been recovering, yet now Keith couldn't stop smiling at the fact he'd begun to put it all back on. The sharp almost painful jut of his collar bones and hip bones had softened, his ribs no longer quite so visible unless Lance stretched out. The small amounts of fat on his hips gave Lance a little curve. His husband felt more solid and much more healthy in his hold. Not realising he'd stopped moving, Lance's voice was filled with worry as he questioned   
"Is something wrong?"  
"I was just thinking how beautiful you are"  
"Well... can you think while you move? You're making me nervous"  
"I'm nervous too... I'm not that experienced with... all of this"  
Propping himself up, Lance frowned at him  
"You literally fucked my brain out and you say you have no experience... who cares about that...? We're both inexperienced and learning... I'm pretty sure you've seen my body do all sorts of shameful things... so just... follow what you want to do... or what you say because honestly that mouth of yours is fucking filthy and it makes me feel... not so used when you tell me exactly what you want to do to me"  
"You're not scared? My teeth and my nails..."  
Keith looked at his clawed nails as he rubbed at his teeth with the tip of his tongue and picked his words  
"Are part of you. So are those eyes of yours... you're treating me like I'm normal and that's what makes it feel good"  
"Then how about I make you feel even better?"  
"That's more like it"  
Laying himself back down, Lance draped his arms back, making a "come hither" motion with his right pointer. Keith was more than happy to obey.

Teasing and edging Lance as he alternated between slow and careful thrusts that made him whimper, and fucking him hard enough to make him scream, the moment the ribbon was finally untied Lance came so hard that cum splattered up all the way up to his chin as he fell limp beneath him. Initially, Keith thought his husband was boneless from the prologued teasing before his release. It wasn't until he'd regained his composure enough releasing he'd kind of flopped right down on his husband that he found Lance had come hard enough to pass out beneath him. Finding the strength in his arms to prop himself up, he carded his fingers awkwardly through the short side of Lance's hair, the touch immediately causing Lance to whimper and shudder beneath him. Fuck... maybe he'd pushed him too far? He couldn't help but lose his head under the haze of Lance's scent. Everything about him was perfect, and how people could use and abuse his husband like this... he'd never forgive them. Moving his hand from his husband's hair, Lance's breathing began to even out, Keith tracing his way down to Lance's neck, tilting it slightly to allow him space to hide his head against the curve. He loved him. He loved him so fucking much. The things he was saying and doing were the things he could have only imaged in his wildest dreams. He didn't even know where all the dirty talk had come from. He... he liked telling Lance what to do. He liked seeing his reaction... Maybe he wasn't losing his mind over his husband as much as he thought? By telling Lance what he wanted to do, he was double-checking how his husband was doing... it soothed his instincts to think of things that way. He never wanted to harm him. He didn't want to stir up those memories and make him feel like sex wasn't something special to him... and come tomorrow, if Lance wanted to wait before they tried again, he'd wait as long as needed. He'd never expected such a gift. With how shy Lance could be over the scarring mottling of his skin... He'd never imagined lingerie or that he'd love it. Lance was a guy, which happened to be able to give birth. That didn't somehow make him any less a man. Nor did him wearing lingerie really. It was quiznakking hot as hell because it was him. His husband. His Lance. It'd been his self-confidence that had been the real shock in the situation, now that he thought of it. They'd been through so much. The day had been so damn long... Keith hoped that Lance hadn't pushed himself too much with this gift of his... although, he was kind of curious how long Lance had been dressed like this. There seemed something sinful about wearing something like this to church. Releasing he was going off on a total tangent, the half-Galra unhooked Lance's legs from behind his, manhandling him into rolling so that Lance ended up seated in his lap. Whining softly at him over the change of position, Keith looped his arms loosely around his love, ignoring how absolutely drained he felt. When Lance woke, he'd help him shower then get him into the soft pair of pyjamas he had.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shall edit this when I get home again... I'm sorry for the mistakes but I will wave my magic keyboard and make them go *poof*

Keith was awake when Lance roused. His body was throbbing with a good kind ache. Blushing hard, the Cuban buried his face against his husband's chest as the memories of the previous night come flooding back. They'd had sex twice in the bed, then he'd been reduced to a boneless mess as they'd accidentally stumbled their way into a third round in the shower. His shoulders felt a little sore from being fucked up against the tiled wall, so did his throat from all the crying out he'd done, but it was worth it for the deep feeling of happiness that bloomed in the pit of his stomach. His whole body felt warm from the feeling of being able to control his emotions and give himself to Keith. The way his husband reacted to him in lingerie made him blush even harder as he nosed at Keith's chest. He felt normal... The anxiety was there, it tendrils trying to sap his happiness, yet he was determined not to let them. He'd wanted Keith. He'd nearly lost his nerve when prepping himself because touching himself still felt dirty or more like a chore.

"Good morning, Lance. Merry Christmas"  
Raising his head, his chin dug into Keith's chest as he shyly smiled  
"Merry Christmas, Keith..."  
Hiding his face again, Keith kissed the top of his head  
"How do you feel, babe? Are you feeling ok?"  
"Mmm... happy... How long have you been awake?"  
"Long enough to clear three levels"  
Lance hadn't even realised Keith as playing his game around him  
"You're like a little kid. You couldn't stop yourself, could you?"  
"No. Plus, I didn't want to wake you up when you were sleeping so soundly"  
"Who's fault is that?"  
"Yours. I never imagined you'd be wearing lingerie"  
"Wanted to try and make it special for you. No drugs. No alcohol. Just you and me"  
Keith hummed at him  
"Wait, no drugs? You didn't take your injection?"  
"I took it earlier so the high would be out of my system... I want to work on... sex with you. Happening more often"  
"You know I'll wait for you to be ready. If you pushed yourself last night..."  
"No. A little, but I've been planning this for a while now... it wasn't not what I wanted"  
Keith kissed the top of his head again  
"That's good. You looked beautiful. I mean. You always look beautiful... but last night... quiznak"  
"You're so eloquent this morning. I'm happy you liked it"  
"You've raised the bar in the gift department. I could give you the whole damn space mall and it wouldn't make up for what you've given me"  
Nuzzling Keith's chest, Lance hugged him tight  
"I don't want it. As long as I have you, I'm happy"  
"Me too babe, me too"

Spending the next half varga lazily nuzzling and whispering around Keith's game, which Lance had rolled over in Keith's hold to watch, things slowly became more teasing. When Keith died on the level he was playing, the game console was placed under Lance's pillow, revealing the condoms and lube Lance had hidden there the previous day. Moving his hand between Lance's legs, Lance moaned as his husband rutted up against him  
"Babe..."  
"Mmm... it's ok..."  
It was more than ok  
"Is this what being in a heat is like?"  
Lance shook his head, moaning again as he nudged up against Keith's hand  
"This... this I want... my heat. I can't think. It's need. Need to be fucked and filled... to be bred senseless... and it hurts so bad"  
"Babe, I promise you won't have to go through them alone"  
"Can we...?"  
"Again?"  
Nodding, his body was going crazy for Keith. Their bed still smelt of their sex  
"Yeah... yeah, I want you... there's condoms... no mess"

Nosing at Lance's nape, Keith pulled the back of his pyjama bottoms down, fingers moving to rub at his still soft and puffy opening  
"You're so beautiful..."  
Moaning around the feeling of his husband's finger breaching him. Keith had no idea how much it meant to him that he didn't simply push in  
"Does it hurt?"  
It did. A little... Keith's dick wasn't exactly small and despite how he wished to forget he'd taken much bigger things. It was a good kind of size. It wasn't a bad hurt, if it had been he would have said  
"It's not too bad"  
Keith nodded, nipping at his nape again. His husband was definitely a biter. If it kept up, he was going to have to get him a chew toy... Feeling Keith's teeth sinking into his nape, Lance wriggled away  
"Hey you, no more biting. I want to kiss you"

Twisting in Keith's hold, Keith's kisses were always the sweetest. He loved this man too damn much for his own good. Moaning into his mouth, his husband was certainly eager. He'd been pretty eager the previous night too... His husband's filthy mouth could do such soft and sweet things... For the emo teen, he'd been, Lance kind of wondered how flustered he would have been if they'd been dating while part of Voltron. He could picture Keith blushing as he stuttered out what he wanted to do, then getting angry with himself over how he spoke. Keith was so quiznakking cute.

Wearing condoms to lessen the mess, the sex was soft and gentle. Lance showered with kisses rather than bites, giggling at the way Keith's messy hair tickled beneath his nose as his husband fucked him slowly. He could smell in his scent how worked up Keith was, yet after the previous night, Keith was being attentive to his every need, no pushing it too far out of fear of hurting him. This was what he'd expected sex to be like. Not just to be used and abused, held down and forced until he sobbed himself out of tears. This gentle sweet thing blossoming between them. When Keith had gone to touch his hair, he'd flinched before he knew it. Instead of making a fuss, his husband had simply moved to cup his face and kiss away the twinge of fear. They'd never kissed him. His mouth wasn't made for that. When Keith was over him, his smaller frame wasn't as heavy and crushing. His scent was intense, but so very Keith. Even from behind the feel of it was completely different. His arms and legs were free, his mouth never gagged, and he was never hit for not being good enough. He was scared for his heat, yet he wanted that with Keith. He wanted to be able to let his husband take the pain away. Sniffling softly, Keith stilled between his legs, bringing his up to sit back. Closing his eyes in shame, Lance bit his lip. His heart was pounding ridiculously  
"Babe? Are you ok? You're crying..."  
Nodding, he felt Keith's hands coming to his face. The pads of his thumbs wiping away the fresh tears  
"I can pull out"  
Shaking his head, Lance opened his eyes to find Keith's eyes filled with worry  
"No... no... I'm really happy"  
"You're crying"  
"I was just... thinking about how gentle you are with me... and it all hit me. You're so good to me..."  
"That's nothing to cry about"  
"I told you, happy tears. I always wanted this... to feel this loved"  
"Aw baby..."  
"I mean..."  
"I... wanted this too... with you. I love you"  
Reaching up to take Keith's face in his hand, he leaned up and kissed him. Rolling his hips hard, Lance moaned as he let himself fall back against his pillow. Other than the morning breath, Lance couldn't find a single thing to fault Keith on. All his husband had ever wanted was to feel like he belonged. Dios. If he'd only known that back then... Keith would have been showered in so much love and reassurance he probably would have snapped  
"You can be a little rougher... I'm close"  
"Nope you gifted me yourself last night and I'm going to treasure this gift of mine"  
"You're such a sap"  
"Shut up. You love it"  
"Mmm... I think you might be right, oh great husband of mine"  
Keith grunted, picking up his pace  
"You're a dick"  
"You're the dick"  
"I thought I was a great husband"  
Lance would have rolled his eyes if Keith hadn't been hitting his sweet spot so perfectly. The jolts of pleasure through his body lowering his intelligence with each thrust  
"What was that? No complaints, great husband of mine"  
"Less talking and more moving"  
Laughing at him, Keith kissed him on the nose  
"I love you, you dork"

*  
When Lance and Keith were running late, it totally wasn't their fault. Kosmo had rolled in something dead before teleporting in and ruining their morning between the sheets. Between showering, scrubbing Kosmo clean, Lance's hips deciding that his legs didn't need to work, and trying to find clothes that hid the marks they left on each other, they were still trying to get ready when Nadia and Sylvio were sent to collect them. Lance had the suspicion that tio Keith had kicked him out of his position as top uncle as both kids hung off Keith's side. His husband holding hands with both children as they walked from the Telula down to the house. Apparently, they were the last ones to arrive, according to Nadia, but Nadia didn't know Veronica was coming home. 

Entering the house, it smelt of all sorts of food that would be laid out down in the tent for lunch. Their teams were already in the living room with Marco and Rachel trying to reexplain the whole "Christmas thing" to them all. Letting Keith go, Nadia and Sylvio ran to throw themselves down with their presents from Luis and Lisa.

"Mijos! Merry Christmas my loves!"  
Shuffling out the kitchen, his mother wiped her hands on her apron as she approached. Once close enough, they were both pulled into a tight hug with his mother kissing both their cheeks  
"Merry Christmas, mami. Sorry, we're late. Kosmo needed a bath"  
"Don't you worry about that. We planned for you to have all morning together. Oh my, is that a new hickey? I hope you've been treating my boy right"  
Keith cleared his throat  
"Yes, mami"  
"Not you my love, Lance"  
Groaning at his mother, Lance kissed her hair  
"Mami, really?"  
"I'm just saying..."  
"No. No more just saying. This topic isn't open for discussion"  
"Well I hope you're being careful"  
Lance blushed, and he was sure Keith would be blushing too  
"Now you're here we can do presents for the kids. Can I get either of you something to drink?"  
"Yes, please. Do you need a hand in there?"  
"Lisa and Luis are in there with Juana. She's in quite the mood this morning"  
Juana was adorable. She'd been so tiny when he'd left. Now she was up and running, claiming everything she could  
"We'll watch her. She really liked Acxa. Speaking of that... has she?"  
"She should be here within the hour. We're waiting for her before presents"  
"Sounds good. Then Keith and I will get out your way. Merry Christmas, mami"  
Keith softly echoed as they both gave his mother a hard squeeze  
"Merry Christmas, mami..."  
"Oh, I'm so happy you finally got together..."

Letting them go, Keith looked a little out of his depth as Miriam walked away mumbling about how "nice it was that Lance brought home a good man". What else was he going to bring him? Someone like Sendak? His thought sent a shiver up his spine. Even as a joke, he wasn't ready to be joking about it mentally. He shouldn't be joking about it mentally. He knew better than to do that  
"Babe, are you ok? Your scent's changed"  
"Yeah... no. It's alright. I was... let's just say I was wondering what she'd think if I brought home someone from the past"  
"I'm from the past"  
Forcing they eye roll, Lance hated being a miserable arsehole. It was Christmas. He smelt of gingerbread from his mother. The house was filled with love and family. None of his past had a place here. Leaving Keith standing there, he walked around the sofa to throw himself at Rachel and Marco, the three of them going down in an uncoordinated mess causing laughter from both their teams and the kids. No. His past had no place here. His anxiety had no place here... Soon V would be there and it'd be present time. Exchanging Merry Christmas's with everyone, Rachel started teasing him for his being late, Keith not backing up the story over Kosmo needing a bath very convincingly. Feeling like he was being "laughed at" rather than "laughed with" those anxieties threaten to spill free. He wanted a good Christmas and his family wanted him to be happy. He just had to keep smiling and hope that nothing happened.

Veronica passed the varga mark, during which time Lance worked on keeping down his anxieties as he watched Keith holding a sleeping Juana. The toddler had claimed his husband's lap almost immediately, and look on Keith's face had been priceless. Grabbing Keith's face, Juana didn't seem to have eyes for anyone but Keith, even her stuffed bear was cast aside. Laughing at Keith, his husband looked far out of his depth. Gathering Juana up, Lance had sat her down between outstretched legs, as Keith passed her bear over to him. His mami was right, she was in a royally bad mood. The teddy went flying. Lance got smacked in the face as she started screaming and crying because her bear was now too far away. His nerves went from shaky to shot completely. When Rachel and Marco both tried to distract Juana, they were both snubbed in favour of the girl throwing herself face-first on the floor. Not used to dealing with screaming toddlers, and having no concept of letting them cry it out, Keith tried to help as he lifted the cranky girl off the floor into his arms. Continuing to cry, Keith rubbed the small girls back, by some miracle calming her down. The moment Rachel to take Juana to put her in the port-a-cot Juana started crying again. Refusing to be taken from Keith. Still nursing Juana, Keith didn't bother moving when someone knocked on the door. Rachel and Marco had given up and were now sorting out the Christmas presents under the tree, Lance watching as Keith's pile grew larger. It seemed like his whole family had added to the pile of presents he'd already placed there. Their teams had started discussing the differences in their own holidays and traditions, so with everyone else busy, he was the only one with the freedom to move  
"I'll get it"

Opening the door, Lance had approximately two ticks before Veronica had him in a headlock and his burning anxieties burst into a roaring fire. Confused as to why he was being so suddenly attacked by his sister, his breath caught in his throat as she turned it into a noogie. He hadn't been able to handle Keith touching his hair, much less Veronica damn near giving him friction burn with her fist  
"You little shit! Why didn't you tell me you and Keith were married?! I had to read it in the galactic press!"

Releasing him, Lance stumbled backwards, falling hard on his arse with a whimper. Veronica's noogies weren't uncommon when they were kids. It was the suddenness of it all that got him. Fear flooding his body as he curled in on himself, arms coming up to protect himself. Laughing, Veronica didn't realise what happened, her hand landing on his head  
"It wasn't that bad... You had it coming. How could you not tell me you got married? Everyone is talking about it... Pidge says she ready to both of you"  
Ruffling his hair, Veronica's voice merged with a gruff and heavy voice, a whimper of terror bubbling from him as he slapped Veronica's hand away.

"You had it coming"  
"You deserve this"  
"Pregnant bitch"  
"Useless whore"

Their words came back. Crashing over him as his arse and hips throbbed, Lance whimpered again. The smells were wrong. He couldn't just smell Keith on him anymore  
"Lance? Hey..."  
Crouching down, Veronica wore an expression of alarm  
"Lance?"  
Curling into himself further, he couldn't move for his fear  
"Por favor... por favor... no más... no más... por favor..."

Coming up behind Veronica, Shiro moved her back  
"Keith, we need help. Lance, it's Shiro. Can you hear me?"  
Begging again, his request wasn't listened to. Placing his arm on Lance's, Lance snapped. Launching himself forward, he tackled Shiro down. Shiro falling back in surprise as Veronica shrieked at him. Coming to his senses when he didn't find his blade his boots, his eyes widened at Shiro beneath him. He hadn't even heard him arrive. Looking up, he realised everyone was staring... in the background, Juana was crying again  
"Lance..."  
"I... fuck..."  
Scrambling back off Shiro, he turned to bolt. Veronica grabbing him as he did. Half tripping again, pain flared up his leg as he ran for it up the stairs. He'd fucked up. He'd fucked up so badly. He couldn't even run properly. His body hurt too much. The pain sending those fears back to the surface. Reaching the bathroom, he threw himself into the small room, slamming the door closed behind him as he clumsily tried to get the bolt to lock. He needed to calm down, but he couldn't calm down. He needed Keith, but Keith was on the other side of the door. All he'd had to do was be normal for one quiznakking day. One day. The most important day. Today was supposed to be perfect. He'd brought gifts for everyone.

For Daehra a book on Earth herbs and an indoor herb kit. 

For Lucteal an impressive, if not rather vicious long black staff that had been hard to wrap to hide its appearance.

For Zak four huge boxes of scrapped tech parts to assist in the building of his AI.

For Tobias, he wasn't sure so played it safe and picked up half a dozen games for the game console he knew was squirrelled away somewhere.

For Ezor and Zethrid matching shirts that said "I'm with her", plus a box of pink gum for Ezor and a small sharp curved blade for Zethrid.

For Acxa it'd been a little harder, he'd picked up a black shirt that said "my girlfriend could kick your girlfriend's arse", and a model of the Atlas to remind her of Veronica when they couldn't be together. He'd found caps proudly labelled "Team V". V as in Voltron obviously, but given everyone called Veronica "Ronnie" or "V". Picking up two, he set one aside for Veronica, unable to resist cute couple items.

For Keith... He'd gotten carried away shopping for his husband. He wanted Keith to experience everything he'd missed as a child at a family Christmas. Socks and underwear. Soft toys. Bad toys. Stupid toys like the two big super soakers he'd picked up. A lunch box that wasn't exactly what anyone ever wanted for a Christmas gift but your parents thought it a good idea anyway, but it had Black and Red it, so that was a win. The embarrassment of more adult gifts to match puberty... also known as condoms and lube, which his brother Marco had taken particular delight in gifting him when he was 14. The mortification still had him hesitant to accept anything from his lay backed brother.

He'd ruined it all... He'd had a good morning with Keith. He'd had more than a good morning. He hadn't felt the same anxiousness that he'd felt sitting on the living room floor, trying not to think about anything... They had plans for this... plans for if something set him off. He couldn't think though. He couldn't remember the plan. As someone knocked on the door, he sank to kneel, covering his ears.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, been busy with real life so I haven't finished the next chapter. The plan is to end the epilogue on new years day...

Juana was crying. As was Veronica. Shiro had his arm around the woman, who was confused over what had just happened. Preoccupied with Juana, Keith hadn't seen what happened to set his husband off, hearing the thud of Lance falling but not being able to see it due to the sofa in the way. When Shiro called his name, Keith finally knew that something was wrong. Passing Juana to Rachel, Marco was already on his feet watching as Lance tackled Shiro down. Keith rising in time to see his brother fall, and Curtis move to his side. Screaming at Lance to stop, Veronica only added to Lance's panic. Keith very nearly making it to his side before Lance bolted up the stairs and out of sight. With the slamming and screaming, Luis, Lisa, Marco, Jorge and Miriam all appeared from the kitchen, seeming bewildered over what had happened.

Coming to Veronica's side, Miriam pulled her into her hold  
"What happened? What was all that screaming about?"  
Slipping past her husband, Lisa retrieved Juana from Rachel. Nadia and Sylvio both moving to hide behind their mother. Keith wanted to follow Lance up the stairs, his hands clenched at his side as he kept himself there. He needed to know what happened so he'd know how to approach his husband   
"I don't know, Mami... I was teasing Lance because his marriage to Keith is across the galactic news. They were photographed and captioned as married... then he... freaked out"  
The what now? Sure there'd been reporters, but how did they know for sure he and Lance were wed?  
"Shiro, what happened?"  
His older brother cast his gaze in his direction   
"Veronica put Lance in a headlock and messed up his hair. You should go to him. He seemed to be having a panic attack"  
"His hair?"  
Veronica nodded as she sniffled. It was so beyond weird to see Veronica crying   
"I was trying to tease him"  
"It's not on you. His anxiety was on edge earlier, especially when it came to touching his hair. I'm going to head up and check on him. He probably thinks he's ruined Christmas..."  
Sighing to himself. His heart hurt for his husband. He knew how badly Lance wanted things to be ok. Veronica's "attack" must have pushed him over  
"Shall I come with you?"  
Speaking softly, Daehra was genuinely concerned. If Lance was feeling anxious, both her and Lucteal must have been stuck feeling it too. Maybe there was something she could give him to help take the edge off   
"Yes, please. Guys, he'll be ok. The best thing you can do is act like this hasn't happened"  
"I didn't mean to upset him, please tell him that"  
Keith nodded at Veronica, moving to the base of the stairs. The woman still being comforted by her mother   
"He knows. He can't control when an attack hits. Just avoid his hair for now... I'm sorry Shiro, I'll be back soon. Why don't you see if mami and Jorge need some help, rather than taking up the doorway"  
The names slipped off his tongue with ease. He didn't think twice about using them or again as he headed up the stairs two at a time. With the rest of the doors on the second floor open or partly open, the bathroom door was clearly the odd one out.

Knocking on the bathroom door, Keith tried the handle and found it turned but the door still seemed to be locked   
"Baby. It's Keith. Can you let me in?"  
Pressing his ear against the door, he didn't like the fact he couldn't hear anything. Knocking again, Lance didn't reply to him. If this hadn't been his husband's house Keith would have kicked the door in. He was tempted to do as much right there and then, but the last thing his in-laws needed was him breaking their house, or Lance launching himself out the window as he tried to escape the noise. Hovering, Daehra didn't know what to do  
"He's not answering..."  
"No. I'm assuming the door is locked from the inside or there's something against it. I didn't know how to get in"  
"Can you use Kosmo? He can teleport?"  
Realisation dawned. That was absolutely right... He'd kind of forgotten Kosmo had followed them up to the house, especially as he'd disappeared again  
"Kosmo!"

Calling his wolf's name, there was a soft thud then the sound of his nails against the wooden floorboard. Padding out the room that had been Rachel's, his wolf had been into trouble again. Crumbs caught in his fur that smelt suspiciously like gingerbread  
"You're a menace. You know that. Mami is going to kick you out"  
Thumping his tail happily against the wall, Kosmo didn't give two quiznaks about his behaviour   
"You're lucky I need you. Can you teleport me in there? So I can open the door. Lance is in there"

With a nudge against his hand, Keith found himself in the bathroom. Lance was sitting with his back against the bathtub, Kosmo licking at his arms and hands. Leaning over without moving, he worked the bolt on the door across, giving Daehra access to the space, before taking the few steps over to Lance. Wrestling Kosmo off, Keith crouched down. Lance had his hands over his ears. His lip bloodied from where he'd bitten it  
"Babe. It's Keith. I'm going to move your hands now"  
As Keith moved Lance's hands, teary eyes filled with guilt and shame met his. Lance's breathing was more level than he thought it would, but his sniffling was coming from trying to breathe through his nose as he kept his mouth firmly closed  
"There you are... want to cuddle?"  
Keith let go of hands, his husband flinching away  
"No. Hey... I'm not going to hurt you. It's me. Here... shit... ok. Hey. I'm here. You're safe. You're in a safe place. We're at home in your parent's bathroom. You're safe"

Offering his hand like one would when meeting a dog, he held his loosely formed fist under Lance's nose, Lance recognising his scent better than he recognised him. Veronica had freaked him. Then again, the comment made by Miriam about Lance bringing home someone decent combined with being physically intimate... and Lance's constant desire to make sure Christmas was perfect for them all. He'd stressed himself right out again. Softly Daehra called to him  
"Keith?"  
"Come in and close the door. He's a little disoriented"

Manoeuvring Lance to straddle his lap, his lover's hands clutched at his back as he let out a sob. Hushing him, Keith rocked him until he settled against him, he could feel how hard Lance was working to bring himself back under control as his eyes watered from the pungent scent his husband released. Sitting herself down on Lance's left side, Daehra placed her hand on his back  
"Le-Lance, is there something I can do help?"  
Lance shook his head, leaning into Daehra's touch  
"I'm sorry..."  
"No harm done"  
Scoffing, Lance replied bitterly  
"I went Shiro"  
"You "went" Shiro after because you are stressed. Have you been taking your medication?"  
"Yes... is that why this happened? Because of that?"  
"When did you take it?"  
"About... 3 vargas early yesterday?"  
Daehra sighed as she moved her hand from Lance's back to his arm  
"It is important you take your doses at regular times"  
"I know... I know, but... I wanted to be clear-headed last night"  
"I cannot hold this against you. You're trying as hard as you can to keep control for the sake of your family. They are lovely people... not at all like my home. I don't know how to offer comfort. It all seems so... as if you lack privacy and self-identity in your close family state. You are seen for your childhood rather than who you became. It is must confusing, though I can assure you that all your family love you deeply. It's particularly strong from Rachel and Luis, as well as your mother. We agreed upon the schedule for your medication. Your body most probably has burned through what was in your system. I can feel the lingering of your activities with Keith"

Daehra didn't need to throw that part in. Lance grew tense as she did. His breath hitching as he hung his head  
"There's nothing shameful about having sex. Nothing at all"  
"I could hear them again... their voices. Like their branded in my brain... I think... when she grabbed me, I panicked"  
"Veronica didn't mean to scare you"  
Hiccuping, Lance brought his hands up his face to wipe at his tears  
"I know she didn't. I don't know how to go down and face them now... I feel like they're on my skin. I want to wash them off, but there's nothing there to wash off... I feel sick to my stomach. And Shiro... Keith, I went for my knife..."

Going for his knife wasn't a good sign of Lance's mental stability. Shiro would have easily disarmed him, but at what cost? With the kids scared, everyone else but those who knew Lance had PTS confused, there was little wonder Lance didn't know what to do now  
"Shiro's had attacks like that too. He understands. I know you're going to say "he shouldn't have to", but you can't control when something hits you that hard. I also know you think you ruined Christmas, but you haven't. You haven't ruined anything.  
Nothing was broken. No one except for you was hurt. Veronica is super excited to see you, so are Shiro and Curtis. By the end of lunch, all of this will be forgotten"

Lance gave a sad laugh   
"I wish I could forget. I hate... not knowing what's setting me off"  
"Veronica pulled you into a headlock suddenly. Scolded you for not telling her we're married, then touched your hair. You were sensitive last night when I touched your hair. You whimpered in your sleep. Then again, today, you were sensitive about your hair again. I'm not saying sex with you wasn't amazing, but I think with all the pressure you keep putting on yourself, you're not letting yourself breathe. We agreed you were putting too much pressure on yourself before..."  
"That's because I wanted today to be perfect! I had it all planned... I wanted to film everyone opening their presents... I wanted to pull those stupid Christmas crackers and tell jokes. I wanted to be normal for a day. I'm sick of being weak in front of my team. No offence Daehra... I mean... Dios. I don't know anymore... why am I so weak and spineless?"  
"You're not weak and you're not spineless. You're my husband"  
"Exactly! That's another reason I wanted everything to be perfect! Our first Christmas as a couple... why..."  
"Don't you dare think this changes anything. I love you. Even if this is a hiccup. Daehra is there something you can give him to help with his nerves? A mild sedative? Something to take the edge off"  
"Of course. I have many herbs..."

"I don't want to take anything"  
"Babe..."  
"Keith, I don't want to take anything else... please don't make me take anything..."  
Ignoring the way he wanted to stroke Lance's hair back from his face, Keith sighed softly. He understood Lance not wanting to take anything, but this was a hugely stressful time for his husband. Lance wanted everything to be perfect for everyone else's sakes. The weight he was putting on his shoulders was too much for him to carry alone   
"Ok... ok, but I want you to do something for me. I need you to stop pushing yourself so hard. If you need to take a break, or you need to calm back down, you go. Ok. You can take Kosmo if you want too, back to the Telula or to the hill. Whatever you need"  
"Is this because I fucked up? Is that why you're sending me away"  
"No, no, no. I'm not sending you away"  
God. Lance looked completely heartbroken. He was only trying to give his husband an out, to let him know that he didn't have to keep putting everyone else before himself  
"I feel out of it... like my head's all messed up. I still can't believe I went, Shiro"  
Keith nodded. It was going to weigh on Lance until he saw that Shiro was alright   
"He's alright. Kosmo, can you get Shiro for us"  
"Wait..."  
Being the teleporting space wolf that he was, Kosmo had left as Lance protested, bringing back with a him a Shiro was in the middle of saying something. His adoptive brother cutting off mid-ramble as he realised he was in the bathroom now  
"Oh... Hey? Hey, Lance. How are you feeling?"  
Letting Lance go, Daehra moved to make space   
"I'll head back down. Take your time"

Taking the space Daehra had vacated, Lance flinched as Shiro sat beside him. The guilt on his face getting to Shiro   
"Hey, Buddy. It's alright. I'm fine. No damage done"  
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean... I didn't mean to attack you"  
"I know you didn't, kiddo. Want to talk about it?"  
"No. Maybe... I panicked when Veronica grabbed me. Then you're... like bigger than her and Keith... and thanks to mami I was having stupid thoughts"  
Shiro looked to Keith for an explanation   
"Mami made a joke about how he finally brought a good man home. His thoughts went back to the past"  
Shiro nodded, while Lance's eyes welled with a fresh batch of tears  
"It's so fucking stupid. She was joking. She loves Keith, and I've never actually brought another guy home before and... why am I so stupid?"  
Breaking the silent "don't touch me" rule, Shiro slung his arm around Lance's shoulders   
"You're not stupid. Anxiety doesn't stop for holidays. You know what triggered it now, and can avoid the same situation"  
"I freaked over my sister acting like she used to! I keep telling everyone not to treat me differently, then this happens! Why can't I be normal?! I was so happy this morning... being normal again"

Shiro raised an eyebrow, hickey's were peaking out from under the collar of Lance's shirt. He wasn't stupid, he'd also warned Keith over taking it slow and letting Lance heal before pushing the matter... Given he felt no shame over sharing physical pleasure with his husband, he opted for the truth   
"We had sex this morning"  
Lance glared viciously at him  
"Don't tell him that!  
Laughing softly, Shiro was also blushing. Almost as hard as Lance was. On Lance it was cute as hell, on Shiro... it was kind of a tiny bit weird   
"It's fine. It also explains why you're so on edge. Sex is a big thing for you. For both of you. Your anxieties are probably going haywire right now. Why don't you Keith take a walk? Get some fresh air and calm down? Your mother has Curtis helping in the kitchen. He admitted to knowing how to making bread from scratch"  
Lance sniffled, finally starting to control his breathing properly by breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth   
"You guys are supposed to be guests..."  
"Nah. You married my little brother remember? He's already calling your mother "mami""  
"Everyone in the family loves him already. I think mami is planning another wedding for us. Keith's the golden child now"  
Shiro hugged Lance closer  
"They still love you just as fiercely. You took a huge step coming back here with everyone. You should be proud"  
"I don't feel very proud"

Keith felt the tiniest bit of jealousy as he watched Lance slowly sink into Shiro's side, but more than that, he was happy that the two of them had found their way back to being like this   
"Keith, how many panic attacks like this has Lance had since you came back?"  
"This is the worst one"  
"See. That's progress. It might seem to be small to everyone else, but that's a big step. You didn't hurt yourself. You're breathing was relatively under control when Kosmo brought me in. You're accepting touch from someone bigger than you. It all adds up. When we were launched into space in Blue, it took months for me to recover. I still have nightmares. I've attacked Curtis in my sleep before. So I know how frustrating it can be, but as stupid and as repetitive as it sounds when you hear it, you need to cut yourself some slack. It isn't going to be like this for the rest of your life"  
"I wanted this Christmas to be special"  
"It can still be special"  
"It's Keith's first family Christmas with us... and my last Christmas home wasn't good... I... was drunk trying to get Allura out my head... I scared the kids and then spent most of the day throwing up... I wanted it to be... different"

Lance hadn't told him all that much of his last home Christmas so Keith had thought it must have been much like this one... with more drinking on his husband's behalf  
"It's different already. You have Keith, and your team, and his team. Keith, have you had a good Christmas so far?"  
"Yeah... no offence Shiro, but this is probably the best Christmas of my life"  
"Oh really? Chinese and movies not good enough for you?"  
"Lance gave me one those SC9 consoles. Do you remember them? Do you remember how cool you were if you had one? Well, I've got a red one now"  
Shiro pulled a face   
"Aren't those like... from when you guys were kids?"  
"Yeah... I... I always wanted one, but you know what some of those homes were like. I'd forgotten how badly I'd wanted one and how out of place I felt not having one until Santa gave it to me"  
"He cried. I thought I messed up, to begin with"

Shiro's face softened, he knew way too much about the hell Keith had been through  
"So Santa knows your name now?"  
Keith rolled his eyes. He wasn't that stupid. He knew it was Luis in a Santa outfit... it's just been cathartic in a weird way  
"It was Lance's brother Luis. He made me sit in Santa's lap"  
Shiro laughed, Keith scowling   
"Lance, please tell you got photos"  
Lance nodded quickly   
"Yeah. Yeah, Marco made sure"  
"Good. I want to see them. I wish I could have been there"  
Shiro was having too much fun with this. Tugging Lance from his brother's hold, the half-Galra snuggled into him, relieved that his scent was as gross as before   
"I'm not sharing my game"  
"He's not, Shiro. It's kind of adorable. He was rolling around in our bed last night with it"  
"Babe!"

Lance whimpered at the loud noise. Right. The whole reason they were in the bathroom was because Lance's nerves were shot   
"Sorry. Sorry. You didn't need to tell Shiro that"  
"Why not? You looked so cute. It made me really happy to know you're happy"  
Pouting at his husband, it sounded stupid now Lance said it out loud   
"I am... I was. Until Shiro started poking fun at me"  
"It's his job as a big brother. I'm really sorry for freaking out. We can head back down now"  
"Are you sure?"  
Lance nodded as he nuzzled into Keith   
"Yeah. I just need to avoid people touching my hair... and loud things for a bit... your scent helps"  
"You can sit on me, down there. In the living room, you know, because the others are using the sofa"  
Lance didn't seem to pick up Keith blushing as he stumbled to over-explain himself. He was only mostly human, and his husband was sin on legs  
"Then how are you supposed to open all your presents?"  
Laughing at the pair of them, Shiro climbed up, dusting himself off, offering his robotic hand to help Keith up. With his hands under Lance's arse, Keith stubbornly lifted him as he stood. Lance didn't seem to mind, as he simply gripped Keith tighter   
"He's got you trained"  
"He brings up all sorts of new instincts. I don't know if it's because I love him or a Galra thing... I should probably have asked Coran about it..."  
"Not Krolia?"  
"I've had the near sex talk from you. I spent puberty on a space whale with my mother. We're sooo not having that conversation. Besides, knowing her she'd try to relate by talking about her and Kolivan having sex... I don't need to think about that"  
"You ask her when she gets here"  
"Wait... I thought she couldn't make Christmas Day?"  
Keith vaguely remembered asking his mother, and vaguely remembered something about Christmas, but he couldn't remember the outcome of the conversation. It'd been when Lance was trying the second of the therapist Coran recommended. His mind with his husband rather than processing prisoners   
"She didn't tell me it was a surprise"  
"I probably forgot. I hope nothing happens..."  
Lance mumbled next to his ear, cutting in before Shiro replied to him  
"My mum likes your mum. Dad's a little scared. My sister is dating your sister... Krolia's part of our mixed-up family too. Plus, I got her a gift"  
"You got mum a gift?"  
"Mhmm... got one for Shiro and Curtis too..."  
"Where'd you get all the GAC for this? I thought you were broke?"  
"Money came in, but I like to be prepared... sometimes I find myself picking up something and thinking about it later... kind of like Hunk's yellow blaster..."  
What money? And why didn't know this? It wasn't like he wanted to know Lance's financials, he just hoped that didn't mean his husband was in trouble or anything   
"Money came in, even though you're not working?"  
"I check my comms like everyone else does..."  
"Should I be worried?"  
"Nope. Own a club remember. Th'al sold stuff off..."  
"Shouldn't she be asking you first?"  
"Why? The club's mostly for her... anyway... Shiro, you're staying for lunch right?"

So Lance was stepping back from the club? He'd said he was going to, but this was Lance. If he didn't feel the need to micromanage the club then he really must have meant he wasn't going chasing more trouble. Patting Lance's back, Shiro assured him  
"I wouldn't say no to Miriam's home cooking"  
"Mami wouldn't let you say no anyway. Sorry I jumped on you"  
"You've gotten stronger. It's good. Do you reckon you could take Keith now?"  
"Mmm. I don't need to. But maybe... took me long enough to finally catch up with you two. He still couldn't take me in sniping practice"  
"I've been getting better"

It was the only thing Keith could contribute. Hunk has been the only once able to get remotely close to Lance's sniping skills when they'd been in Voltron, but even then, Lance had him beat by a mile   
"I'm sure you have been. So what did you get us for Christmas?"  
Lance hummed noncommittally at Shiro's question   
"Do you hear something Keith?"  
Biting down his smile, Keith played along  
"Nope. I don't hear a curious Shiro at all"  
"Good. I didn't think so... It's like he doesn't want to want and be surprised"  
"I know right. You can put me down now, if you want to"  
"Nah, I'm good babe"  
"Ok... I'm a little sleepy"  
"That's alright. We can nap later"  
"Nope. Later is when we play with our presents. You have so much to learn"  
"I realised that yesterday"  
"Today's going to blow yesterday out the water. Right?"  
Hiking Lance up, Keith didn't know if his heart could handle more presents   
"Yeah... let's get you back down with the others?"  
"I'm feeling so ignored over here"  
"I'm sorry, Space Dad. But we're going to have to put our feet down. No hints or clues about your present, or we'll have to sit you at the kid's table for lunch"  
"You wouldn't..."  
"Watch me"  
"Keith, your husband is picking on me"  
"You heard him. Now behave or we'll have to take the presents away"  
"You two both suck"  
Giggling at Shiro, Keith was happy to hear Lance was coming back to himself. Shiro was left pouting as he trailed behind them from the bathroom.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sighs dramatically... this chapter tried to kill me. I don't like it

Leaning against the railing of the front veranda, Lance was watching Shiro and Keith talking over near the Telula. His perfect Christmas had unravelled in the bathroom, then seemingly kept unravelling. For half the table lunch had been stiff. The aunties openly grilling both he and Veronica for their chosen relationships. Veronica wasn't as placid as he was with them. Her outburst had put his to shame, leading to crying aunts and a long lunch of possibly the worst small talk he'd ever heard coming from the end of their table. His side was more livelier. His mami didn't care, she was just as loud as everyone else as they popped Christmas crackers. Veronica didn't shy away from doting on her girlfriend, something Lance wished he'd had the confidence to do. Curtis lost his cracker toy to Shiro's drink which they'd laughed way too hard over. All he could do was block out those disapproving voices and stares for now. He smiled and held hands with Keith. Trying his best to hide how the popping noise made him just. Keith looked so happy that it made his heart ache. That was all he wanted for his husband.

The thing he'd been most excited over had been Keith opening his presents. Everyone was full from pretty gorging themselves on the delicious meals his family had filled the tables with, there were more different dishes than there were people. He liked to think he held himself back on both eating way too much and in giving too many gifts. He'd gifted Keith 12 presents in total. Which some might see as going overboard... he was worried he had, but he had a good reason why it had to be 12. 6 as his friend and 6 as his husband. Aiming from ages 8 to 14. He'd wanted to give Keith loving memories to wipe out the horrible ones of being in care... After his own little spat with his traumas, he really should have known better. He'd been so focused on trying to make his husband happy, he'd made him cry instead.

Somewhere between the lunch box and the new comms he'd set up for Keith with access to all the bounty hunter stuff related to the area where the compound was, his husband had started to shake. His scent had taken on a pained edge, yet he'd let him hold him. With all the gifts had, Lance was enjoying sitting on the floor with Keith settled between his legs, like a parent with their child. It was after Keith opened his gift from mami that Keith had taken off. Lance had gone to go after him, but Shiro had stopped him and gone instead. As an act of apology, Veronica turned the attention to Acxa and her gifts. He knew his sister was sorry for what happened by the front door and hated that she had to be. He also hated that he kind of felt she'd announced her own relationship to take the pressure off of him and Keith. There were so many things on his mind... all of them serving to piss him off. Why couldn't he be the one to talk to Keith? If he'd done something wrong or pushed too hard, he needed to be the one to apologise. If it was from Keith's past, then shouldn't Keith be able to lean on him a little? He might have freaked out because of Veronica, but Keith usually... No. His mood was only going further downhill. Keith had been right. The idea of a perfect Christmas was impossible. He'd know it could be shaky, yet...

"Mijo?"  
"Mami..."  
He'd told himself he wasn't going to cry again. He'd been standing out the front of the house for the better part of half a varga. The beer in his hold had started growing warm, as he'd tried to pick at the label. The aunties found his gloves rude. He'd nearly taken them off to show them his messed up hand, just to shut them up. There were more important things in life than one's sexuality... like catching bad guys and saving the planet. So why couldn't they see past the musty smelling makeup they caked on? Keith was the future. He'd been the whole reason Voltron succeeded  
"They still talking?"  
"Yeah. How are you? Lunch was a bit of a fiasco"  
"I'm fine, mijo. I'm proud of my children and the adults they have grown into. Don't you worry about any of all that. I learned long ago that the aunties will never be pleased. How are you feeling...?"

Forcing down a swig of beer, Lance looked to his mother  
"Over what happened this morning? Or about Keith?"  
"Keith... both... this morning. Is it rude to pry?"  
"You wouldn't be my mami if you didn't. I'm sorry for freaking out. V took me by surprise and Keith tells me I'm still putting too much on myself. I really... after last time, I really wanted to be happy. You know?"  
"You've always been that way. I'm not too sure about your choice in gifts"  
His mother had no right to be complaining. Aliens didn't value gold as they did on Earth. It was simply a shiny metal whose uses had mostly been surpassed. The watch set her gifted her and his father would have cost a mint before everything on earth collapsed at the hands of the Galra  
"Mami, Keith was in really bad foster homes. He didn't have... he didn't have this whole Santa thing and family... I wanted to give him a taste of that, but now I'm standing here wondering how I could have made things better for him. I wanted us all to have a good Christmas. I'm making money from my job, and I'm making money doing something I like. I felt lost without Allura. I'm so sorry for... before. I know I can't make up for it. I know it... so I wanted to do better. I wanted Keith to see how warm and happy family can be. That we love him. That it's ok to be selfish... and now I don't know what to say to him"

Letting her gather him into his arms, Lance felt weak for needing her comfort  
"Mijo, I'm sure Keith is happy. Between yesterday and last night, I feel he's probably overwhelmed by this. You said he isn't used to such a fuss, and now we're all fussing over him. Plus, I've seen how he looks at you. He adores you"  
"He adores me... but... mami, I want to be there for him too. I know I'm not good enough for him... but I love him"  
"He knows you do. He knows... He loves you, mijo. And don't you dare say you're not good enough for him. I'm sure once he's finished talking to Shiro, he'll want to talk to you"  
"Yeah... maybe. I know he probably doesn't want me to have another episode, and that he's probably trying to consider my feelings, it just really sucks to be pushed away"  
"Mijo..."  
The gently testing tone in the way his mother spoke told him the conversation was going back to what gas happened. He knew it before she even continued  
"... will you tell me what it's like? Or how it happened. If Veronica did something..."  
"No! No, mami. It wasn't her. It was but it wasn't. I was thinking about the people who hurt me. I'm kind of sensitive over my hair... when she touched my hair it sent me over. V wasn't being mean. Or trying to be mean. And it's like... it's like having all your worst fears happen at once. That panic fills your body. You... you're there but you're not because you're so scared. We think I jumped on Shiro because he's bigger than V and Keith. The people who hurt me were all bigger than Zethrid. So if you put it together, something big, suddenly grabbing me and touching my hair... it's stupid"  
"No, mijo. I understand. We only knew bad Galra to begin with. We didn't want to be scared, but you can't help it sometimes. After sending the family into hiding, we didn't know if we'd see them again"  
"I was so scared I'd never see any of you. I missed home so much, but now Earth feels so different. Home didn't feel like home. I felt like a stranger here and I didn't know how to get it all back. I kept seeing Allura. I didn't want to, but she didn't go away. I couldn't tell what was real anymore... I know I hurt you. I know I hurt the kids. I thought I had a handle on it"  
"Nadia and Sylvio will understand..."  
"They shouldn't have to understand. Sorry, mami. I think I should just take a walk"  
"Alright, mijo. Don't forget you need to introduce Keith to his new grand-parents when they wake from their naps"  
"I know mami. I've been dying to introduce Keith to them... crap. I forgot about my team..."  
"Why don't you take them with you? You could take them to the beach or to see Allura and your friend?"  
"I might take them up to see Allura and Kre'el. I'm saving the beach for when Keith is with us"  
"Ok. I love you, my precious baby boy"  
"I love you too, mami. I'm sorry my head isn't great"  
"Nonsense. You're working hard and I couldn't be prouder"

Zak and Tobias had been "roped" into playing video games with Nadia and Sylvio. Zethrid and Ezor were assisting from the sidelines while Veronica and Acxa were cuddling in the corner near the Christmas tree. Asking Daehra and Lucteal if they wanted to come for a walk, the pair in agreed faster than Lance liked. Remaining mostly silent as he led them down the road between the paddocks and up to his favourite hill, Lance wasn't sure this was where he wanted to be. It still felt like a mess with Keith. He'd fully intended to agree if Keith asked to spend some time with Shiro on Christmas. They were brothers after all. Now he just felt like an intruder in their relationship, like he'd done in the early days of Voltron. Curtis clearly didn't mind the siblings bonding. He'd probably been used to it due to Adam. Still, Lance wondered if like him, if Curtis was maybe a little jealous of being on the outside, or if he was self projecting his doubts again.

Settling down atop the hill a few metres from the two graves, Lance patted the ground next to him. He didn't need to be an empath to know his friends were worried. Sitting either side of him, Lance wrapped his arms around Lucteal and Daehra. He liked to think he'd come a long way from where he couldn't stand the slightest of touches without wanting to murder something  
"How do you guys like Earth?"  
After walking in silence, it took a few ticks for Daehra to reply  
"Your home is very beautiful. Not at all like our world is. Your family is also very nice"  
Hugging both his friends tight for a tick, he released the pressure with a fond smile on his lips  
"Thanks. I'm really happy you guys came with me. I know Keith's become a big part of my life, but I love you guys. I couldn't have made it this far without you. I hope you know that"  
Lucteal let out a scoff  
"I don't know that I did that much... it's not as if we've seen a lot of action of late"  
"Electric, my man. You're the best second in command I could ask for. I know things are all different now, but I know you've got my back, ya know? Plus, you've got that awesome staff of yours now. I might be dating Keith, but he doesn't need to know everything I get up to"  
"You still want me in your crew?"

Tilting his head, Lance stared at Lucteal  
"Why would you say that?"  
"Because Keith is much better at..."  
"La la la la. Ima pretend you didn't even go there. He's got his own job and stuff to do. Besides, he gets all frowny over our idea of fun. We managed before he came walking back in, and we'll manage when we head back out. Because of you, and because of Dae here. It's our job to have fun, and Daehra's to patch us back together"  
Daehra sighed in clear annoyance  
"I would not need to if you were simply careful, to begin with. Plus, you promised Keith you wouldn't take unnecessary risks"  
"There are some risks that can't be mitigated, no matter what you do. I'm serious though guys, I couldn't have come home without my team. I'm so proud of you"  
Lucteal huffed  
"We know, you idiot. We can feel your emotions. They were..."  
"Lucteal!"

Cutting her brother off, Daehra leaned forward to glare at him  
"They were what?"  
Continuing to glare, Daehra shook her head  
"It doesn't matter"  
Now he was kind of hurt. Both empaths picking up on it. As her expression softened, Lucteal took that as permission to continue  
"They were so strong last night that even though we were in our quarters, we picked up on it"  
Lance blushed hard  
"This is why we shouldn't have mentioned it. Lucteal cannot keep his mouth shut"  
"Oh, like you didn't feel it too"  
"They're in love!"  
"They're more than in love. It's like they complete each other. It's depressing how much of the same wavelength they're on"  
"I think it's sweet. Keith is a very nice man. Sometimes he is hard to read, but he loves you fiercely"

Lance snorted at Daehra. Sometimes? Was she serious? Lance would pay to know what was going through his husband's head. He had no idea why he hadn't run while he still had the chance. Why he'd turned up at the outpost after chasing something like him. He wasn't ever really sure he'd understand why Keith had taken everything done to him so personally. Or why he'd decided he was going to step up and fix up the mess Klearo had made of him. Being Leandro was still far easier than being Lance who'd been abused and tosses aside. But the love of Keith was making Lance worth being Lance.

"Sometimes? You should have seen him before. Seriously. He always looked emotionally constipated. He'd get mad when he couldn't find the right words and heaven help you if you said something about Shiro"  
Nudging Daehra, she smiled at him  
"They are very close"  
"Keith pushed himself to the edge of madness to save him... You probably know why he left earlier..."  
It was wrong and rude to ask his friends what their powers were picking up, yet he had to know it wasn't because of him  
"He felt overwhelmed. I do believe you should have been the one to go after him, instead of Silver Fox Shiro"  
"I suppose he's alright for a half-Galra. More emotional than I thought he'd be. I still think he touches you too much. He doesn't pick your panic up as we do... though sometimes it seems you haven't noticed it either"  
Wasn't that a good thing? If he wasn't noticing he was panicking because he was still able to function?  
"Sorry guys. I don't think I'll ever be able to understand how deep your powers run. But I love you both. I hope you know it. Feel it... sense it"  
Making wiggly fingers towards Daehra, she shoved at him with a giggle  
"We do"  
"Good. I know we met under pretty awful conditions, but I'm still really happy we met. I can't believe how long it was..."  
"It's been over an Earth year, right?"  
"Yep. One of the worst and best years of my life. This time next year, we'll have our outpost all set up. You'll have your own nursing staff. Lucteal will be training all the staff. Zak will be blowing stuff up with Tobias... Keith's going to be off doing all sorts of Blade things... It feels good"  
"Lance, do you really think I could have my own staff?"  
Rolling his eyes at her, Lance couldn't believe she'd even question it  
"Of course I do. You're a member of my team! That makes you like a million times more qualified than I know how to describe"  
"I do not know about that"  
"You guys can feel it, right? The faith I have in both of you? You're special to me. And when we move out to the outpost, I'm going to be relying on you to keep my head on straight"

Plucking at a stray blade of grass, Lucteal sighed heavily  
"Hear that Daehra? It sounds to me like he's actually going to listen to us for a change"  
"That is what I heard. I also heard him promise not to get into any more trouble and that we'll be able to take vacation time whenever we want"  
Throwing up his hands in mock offence, the smile on his lips was genuine  
"Is this not a good enough vacation? And you had done time on Altea. Plus Coran gave you all new toys and programs to play with. I thought I was doing better as a boss?"  
"Not a boss, but our friend. It has been nice seeing your planet"  
"You guys have only seen a tiny bit. On New Years we're going to have this huge party down at the beach. There's going to be firecrackers and Bonfires. You guys can go swimming... then I was thinking about taking you out to see where we found the Blue lion. Keith used to live out there on his own, in this tiny little shack. There's like a whole lot of nothing out there. Nothing like this..."  
"This is nice"  
Lance nodded, dropping back from the group hug to stare up at the clear sky  
"Yeah. And it's even better here with you"

*  
Staying up on the hill, they headed back down once Krolia's small pod landed down near the two ships and Shiro's pod. His mother-in-law already deep in conversation with Shiro and Keith as the trio approached. Kosmo was clearly happy over her arrival, his tail going flat out as he tried and failed miserably at getting krolia's attention. Not wanting to intrude, Lance tried to make his way over to the house, only to be spotted by Shiro. Waving both arms above his head and calling his name, it was kind of impossible to ignore the man.

Propelled forward by Daehra, Lance's feet dragged as he forced himself to walk over to the group. Shiro and Keith had obviously had a lot to talk about, they'd overshot the simply lunch and present exchange that Shiro and Curtis were going to stay for. He felt as if he really shouldn't be intruding on the conversation, Keith and Krolia were both smiling and laughing, without him. He didn't want to ruin the mood. He didn't want to risk saying the wrong thing. That would be the cherry on top of his less than stellar performance earlier.

Reaching the group, Lance hung his head as Kosmo came over for pats. Squatting down to shower him in attention, he didn't have to look anyone in the eyes. The nerves that had started as bubbling butterflies in his stomach now had it rolling. They hadn't exactly told Krolia they'd married. Her son was married to something dirty and weak like him. She might have been alright with him when they were dating but now... they were married. If she didn't approve, he'd have to say goodbye to Keith. He'd never make his husband choose between him and someone as important as his mother. Burying his face against Kosmo's neck, he nuzzled into his soft fur. He'd bought Kosmo a new collar for Christmas. The space wolf deserving of a little razzle-dazzle with his dark blue leather collar and name proudly studded in a white gold finish  
"Lance, Shiro asked you a question"  
Flinching at Keith's worried tone, Lance forced his face to go neutral as he looked up  
"Sorry, Shiro. I missed my puppa"  
"It's alright, kiddo. I was asking if you wanted to join us for New Years? You don't have to make your mind up right away, and naturally, the invitation is for all of you"  
No. No. He had plans for the New Year. He had plans to show Keith how his family celebrated, and how his town all came together. He wanted to set off fireworks and play volleyball with the kids, maybe even give Keith a surfing lesson or get Marco to so he didn't have to go into the water  
"Sure. I'll talk to my team about it. I was just telling them how they'd barely seen any of Earth"  
"Sounds good. It's about time for Curtis and me to be heading off. Krolia, why don't I show you inside?"

Raising an eyebrow, Krolia blatantly ignored Shiro's hint that Keith wanted to talk to him. It was either that Keith wanted to talk to him, or Shiro wanted Keith to talk to him. He was too awash with nerves to know which was up right about now, let alone who was hinting what and what he was magically supposed to do about it  
"Don't I get to greet my son-in-law?"  
"Muuuum"  
Drawing the name out, Keith sounded annoyed  
"My boy got married without me, I'm allowed to tease both of you. It's my job"  
"I'm sorry..."  
It was the only thing he could offer... He'd married Keith behind her back. Biting his bottom lip, Lance wished he hadn't come down from the hill. He'd been happy up there with Daehra and Lucteal. He'd missed spending one on one time with them  
"Mum, you're not allowed to tease my husband. We got married by accident"

Scolding his mother, Keith added to his guilt. If Keith hadn't come after him on his self gifted mission to "fix him", then they'd never have been married. Lance didn't regret being married to Keith, and no matter what grand wedding plans he'd once had, the way they'd wed was very them  
"That's what makes this all so interesting. And if anything, I should be apologising to you, Lance, for how dopey my son can be"  
"No. No. You don't need to apologise. I mean... it's all my fault... If Keith..."  
"Keith is right here. Mum, stop teasing him. Lance, don't let her get to you. She's happy for us. She said so before you came back"  
"But, dude, she's like your mum... and we didn't tell her"

Looking back at Kosmo, Lance missed the glances the three above him shared. He'd always worn his heart on his sleeve, his emotions easily read despite the expression on his face  
"Lance, I'm relieved you and Keith have such a strong relationship. He's honestly been in love for you so long I began to think he'd never marry. There are far worse people Keith could have married. Besides, the both of you aren't nearly as covert as you think. I knew back on Daibazaal, I simply didn't have the reason to tease you like I do now. It's huge intergalactic news"  
Krolia didn't sound mad, more amused. And she'd known that long? So much had happened he couldn't keep track of it clearly anymore  
"You're not mad? I mean... you know what happened..."  
Stepping around Shiro, Keith stood by his side  
"Great going mum, you've gone and upset him"  
"I didn't mean to upset him. I simply wanted to tease my two boys. Three boys if you include Shiro. Lance, you know I think no less of you. You have always been brave, and strong. Now, why don't we find Curtis? You two have plans, and Keith and I were planning on visiting his father's grave. Lance, you're welcome to join us"  
"It's ok... it's Christmas, you guys should spend some time together. I was going to tell Keith he should take a few vargas and go chill. My family is pretty much chaos personified. Veronica's probably got everyone whipped into shape inside. Her and Acxa are like the best power couple ever"

He was rambling. He could hear himself rambling. Keith always said he rambled when he was tired... He didn't feel as tired as he had, but that might have been the adrenaline from his nerves  
"Babe..."  
"It's ok, Keith. Do you want me to keep Kosmo here?"  
"Babe..."  
"I don't mind..."  
"Lance!"  
Flinching, Lance let Kosmo go. Krolia wasn't mad. Shiro wasn't mad. Keith wasn't mad. It was all in his head...  
"Keith, don't yell at Lance like that"  
Scolding him, Lance swore he could feel the pout on Keith's lips he knew would be there because of Krolia  
"I'm trying to ask him to come with us, but you're making him all upset. I already told you he had a panic attack this afternoon and not to tease him"  
So they'd talked about him. He should have expected as much... He wondered if Erathus celebrated Christmas with a holiday. He doubted they would, given how built up it was  
"It's fine... I've got to make a call this afternoon. So you guys go ahead. We're still here for another week and a half"  
"You need to make a call? On Christmas Day?"  
He'd said the wrong thing. Keith sounded annoyed. All he wanted was to step back and give Keith space to breathe. He'd been overwhelmed opening presents, probably forced to remember things he wished to forget. He was trying to politely give him an out. Keith was his husband, not his property. He had no right to tell Keith what he could and couldn't do, especially when he felt Keith and Krolia should go there alone together  
"Yeah. It could take a while. We just came down to make sure someone knew Krolia was here..."

Placing his hand on his shoulder, Keith's grip felt weird  
"Babe, you're part of our family too. You're not in the way... and I thought you wanted to meet dad too"  
"It's not that I don't want to. I just thought it might be nice for you and your mum to spend some time together. It's not like either of you come to Earth all that often, and my family is hands-on..."  
There was a long pause before Keith cleared his throat  
"Alright. Mum, come meet the rest of the family... Jorge and Miriam are nice. Everyone here's been really nice... They've all made me feel like part of the family"  
"I wouldn't expect anything less from Lance's family. They raised a wonderful young man. Lance, I look forward to talking with you more over dinner"  
"Uh... um, you too. I'm sorry we didn't tell you. There's been a lot going on"  
"I'm not mad at you. We all know what's been going on. I'm happy for you both"

Pity. It surely had to be pity. Forcing himself to stand, Lance, caught Shiro by the jacket as the group went to head for the house. Catching a curious glance from Keith, Shiro waved him off to leave the pair of them standing there. Keith and Shiro had always communicated on a level deeper than words... yet part of him had wanted Keith to question why Lance was reaching out for Shiro instead of him  
"Lance?"  
"How... how badly did I fucked up?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I... mean I want the best for Keith, but my head's been all over the place today. The moment I saw Krolia I wanted to run. I wanted to run from my mother-in-law. I couldn't even look at her... I keep feeling that... that Keith could have done better than me. She's his mum. I have my whole family but he only has her by blood... I don't want to come between them... I'm not a very good person... and if she... if she sees the real me... then I'm going to have to say goodbye to Keith. I only want what's best for him... that's why... that's why I thought it would be good for him to spend some time alone with Krolia. He's barely had a moments peace since we got here... The aunts were mean as hell over him... I want him to be happy"

Pulling Lance into a tight hug, Shiro was careful not to touch his hair  
"You didn't mess up. Krolia loves you like a son as it is"  
"But my past..."  
"Doesn't matter to those who love you. Keith loves you. Krolia doesn't think you're weak at all. She admires your strength"  
"Are you sure it wasn't pity"  
"I don't think Krolia is one for pity. And I don't blame you for wanting to run. She scares me too at times"  
"I don't want to be like this..."  
"I know you don't. I thought you wanted to ask me about Keith"  
Lance shook his head. If his husband didn't want to tell him, then he'd have to swallow that down  
"I want to ask him about that... but only when he's ready... I think I'm going to call my therapist... I think I want to, but I don't know"  
"Before you do, you should know Keith was upset because he felt the gift he got you didn't measure up. Adam and I... would try, but we didn't know what we were doing, so he ended up doing the same things we would. He wasn't sure how to handle all the attention. He didn't expect anything more than the game console"  
Hadn't he just said he wanted to hear it from Keith?  
"I know I can't take those memories and pain from him, but I wanted to show him that I want to understand... I feel like this whole day went sideways when we got out of bed"  
"It hasn't. You haven't done anything wrong. I understand what you tried to tell Keith. You're right, you know. He and Krolia rarely visit Earth"  
"Exactly... I think I just hurt his feelings. I really... I don't want to come between him and his mum"  
"No, you didn't. Talk to him when they come back for dinner. He loves you. He warned Krolia not to pick on you because he wanted you to have a good Christmas. He was worried she'd make you cry, or cause another attack"  
"Too late..."  
"I think you handled your emotions quite well. Now, what do you want to do? Do you want to head back into the house, or down to the tent?"  
"It's a marquee and I'd rather not. The extended family isn't that fond of me. I'm going to head up to my room on the Telula and call my therapist... if I go back in there now, Daehra and Lucteal are going to know something's up"  
"Alright. Hey, Lance. One last thing, Merry Christmas"  
Hugging Shiro tightly, Lance sniffled  
"Merry Christmas Space Dad. Thank you for coming... even if I'm mental"  
"You're no more mental than I am. I'll see you at New Years, right?"  
"Maybe"  
"There's no pressure. I know it's pretty late to ask"  
"It's ok. I'll think about it"  
"That's all I can ask"


	11. Chapter 11

Keith breathed a sigh of relief when Christmas Day was finally over. Krolia had integrated herself into Lance's family almost seamlessly, spending most of dinner talking with Miriam over the dishes served for dinner. Even before that she'd joined in on the games the kids of Lance's relatives were playing, causing bittersweet feelings to blossom over what he could have had and never had with her. Lance was smiling and laughing, he seemed so much happier than when Keith had left for the afternoon with Krolia as their little group picked into the lunch leftovers, still somewhat stuffed from lunch. She even passed the tick of approval from Lance's grandparents. They'd both liked Keith well enough, giving him a 10 pesos note and a wink like his husband had said they would. Keith even got a pinch on the arse from Lance's grandmother. It'd been years since they'd visited his father's grave, only one since Earth had been liberated and that had been in the early days. Despite the downfall of the Galra, time had slipped through their fingers and they'd wound up leaving his father resting there all alone for far too long. Krolia knew what Christmases had been like due to their time on the space whale, but this was only their second time celebrating the holiday since being reunited. As much as he'd been hurt by Lance insisting that he went off with his mother, he'd needed time with her more than he knew. Maybe it was because it was Christmas that he needed her in a whole other way. Sitting at his father's grave, he felt a little stupid talking to the headstone about Lance and all Lance had done for him... yet, he still promised his father he'd bring his husband to visit soon.

When they finally climbed into bed for the night, Lance was shy as he inched towards him, Keith quick to give the Cuban the reassurance he needed. He had so many questions and no idea where to start, his fingers running along the thin gold chain around his husband's neck. He'd bought it so Lance had somewhere to keep his "wedding ring", that wasn't where his little finger had been. Keith had intended to find hid something more fitting of his lover, yet nothing screamed Lance at him and he wasn't about to settle for second best. He wasn't like Lance. He wasn't sure on his gifts. He didn't know exactly what to buy everyone. Lance had brought joy to their whole family unit with his gifts, Keith had brought rolled eyes with weapon-related gifts. He'd bought his husband enough clothes and blankets to last until he was compelled into his next spoil session. He'd picked up various face creams for his husband, but had no idea if Lance liked them already had them. Lance had access to more technology and weaponry than he did. All the really cool things... Leaving him behind all over again.

"I can hear you thinking"  
Nuzzling his cheek against Keith's chest, Lance's hand gripping his hip fractionally tighter. He'd seemed so scared in front of Krolia. Lance was trying to hide his emotions but his scent had said it all. The Cuban was shaken and pushing him away, throwing the walls up that Keith had thought they'd broken through  
"Who did you call?"  
That wasn't the question he was going to ask... It was the question he'd wanted to ask, yet intended to ease into once he figured out what he wanted to say  
"My therapist"  
That wasn't what he expected. He'd been angry that Lance had chosen to make the phone call rather than come with him and Krolia... those feelings might have passed, but for Lance to call his therapist on Christmas Day   
"It's my fault, isn't it? Because I left? I didn't..."  
"Babe, no"  
"You called your therapist..."  
He was happy Lance seemed to have found someone... but again, Christmas Day. For Lance it was a special day, for him it brought back the memories of being locked away hungry or being hit for asking for something as small as a glass of water or new pens for school  
"I called my therapist because I needed help"  
Lance had talked to his therapist maybe twice? Yet he'd turned to them instead of him  
"I should have..."  
"No"  
"You don't even know what I was going to say"  
"You were going to say you should have helped. Shiro explained things to me... I thought... I wanted to give you new memories. I know you I can't take your pain away, but I wanted to give you good memories. It was also why I was going to suggest you go out with Shiro for a bit... Seeing your mum made me feel guilty. About me and my past... because your mum like knows. So I called my therapist. Erathus kind of has Christmas, it's not a holiday though... I managed to get through, well I had to wait for them to return my call. I wanted to call them when my head was so messed up because I'm still trying to be better. I didn't mean to be rude to your mum"

Lance's honest answer tugged hard on his heart. His husband was trying so hard and he'd dared to be mad. Rubbing his back, he resisted the urge to kiss the top of Lance's head  
"I'm really proud of you. Today was... all over the place. I can't believe it was only 24 hours long"  
"Christmas is a mission of its own. For the record, I do like your mum. My head went to stupid places because I was confused. I shouldn't have acted like that"  
"You're fine. I was mad... I didn't get why you didn't come with us, until after we were at dad's grave"  
"Christmas is... Christmas isn't always good for people... sometimes it's just another day. I thought you needed your mum, like I needed my mum today. I don't know if that makes sense. I'm really sleepy"

They were all "really sleepy". Keith and Lance had both been leaning heavily on each other as they stumbled back to their bedroom. Once again going to kiss Lance's hair, he forced himself to stop all over again   
"It was our second Christmas together that I can remember. We didn't do anything on Daibazaal. I think we were both working and didn't realise until after"  
"I remember. We had a group call. I missed it, then called you back on Boxing Day so you wouldn't think anything was wrong. I know it's probably awful to say, but I'm glad Hunk and Pidge didn't come today"  
Talking of Pidge, he was reminded that she'd sent a present care of Veronica  
"Pidge sent a gift. Hunk said he and Shay would be dropping by when they could"  
"Do you know what was in that box? It was that damn finger she mentioned... I don't know how to tell her I don't want it"  
Lance's mottled left hand didn't bother him. He hated that he'd been hurt the way he had, yet was grateful that they hadn't taken the whole hand. While he didn't hate it, he knew his husband felt differently. That's why it was constantly hidden   
"You don't?"  
"My hand looks like a freak show as it is, it doesn't need a creepy alien finger attached"  
"It doesn't look like a freak show. You don't have to use the finger if you don't want. I love you, either way. You know that, don't you?"  
"Yeah... I love you too. Let's just go to sleep?"  
"Sounds good babe"  
"I feel like I could sleep for a phoeb"  
"You're not the only one, but I promised dad we'd visit soon"  
"I'd like that... mmm, sorry, I'm falling asleep"  
"You just sleep. I'm not going anywhere"  
"I apologise now for any nightmares"  
"Babe, you don't need to apologise"  
"Want to... now go to sleep. I'm drooling"  
Keith wasn't sure what Lance's drooling had to do with anything, yet with Lance already nearly asleep he didn't ask. They had tomorrow to talk. They had the rest of their lives to talk. Tonight he was going to sleep like the absolute dead.

*  
Keith had no idea how time had passed so fast between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Two days after Christmas their teams had come for a fly out to his old shack, then he and Lance had visited his father's grave from there, yet with that being pretty much the only thing they'd done, somehow the week had vanished before he knew it. There'd been chores to do, Lance proving to be more help than he was as they worked on Jorge's tractor. A new group of aliens came in to work as farmhands for the fruiting junipers, and Kalternecker had escaped her pen, but that was seriously all that happened. 

It was alarming how fast he'd grown used to doing next to nothing around the farm. Sure, he pitched in where he could, but it wasn't the same as flying all over the place on missions. All of them were brimming with extra energy. His team taking on training Daehra and Lucteal in protective hand to hand moves. Lance wasn't allowed to join given he had a seizure out of nowhere in the middle of the night, then another the following morning, so spent the time sitting between Keith's legs under the shade of some fruiting tree where Keith could monitor his condition and temperature. His husband assured him he was fine, only a little sleepy, Daehra had been forced awake in the middle of the night to run scans on the stubborn Cuban. Her best guess was it was the release of stress now that Christmas had passed, coupled with Lance messing with his medication schedule. All Keith could be grateful for was that neither seizure had happened at the house, and that they hadn't been caused by Lance overdosing. Christmas had been shaky in the middle, but looking back on it, he'd never felt as happy, loved or content as he had on the day itself. Lance had a slightly different view though, thanks to his anxieties, which was hard on both of them as his husband took all of Boxing Day to truly bounce back from the previous day. He hadn't wanted to leave their bed, tearfully apologising for his depression. He loved his husband and loved the fact he'd tried so hard for the sake of everyone there, so they'd spent the day tangled up in their blankets together, Keith placing his game while Lance alternated between napping and simply watching him play, occasionally throwing in a suggestion when Keith got stuck, but for the most part he let the half-Galra work things out for himself.

With the Garrison's New Year's party looming, and Shiro's smaller New Year's part looming, Keith wasn't looking forward to either. He didn't want to make an appearance at the Garrison, he'd said so as much, yet the invitations had already promised that the Voltron Paladins would be present... yet Lance hadn't mentioned the party at all. Out of fear that his husband hadn't been invited, Keith didn't mention it either. If Lance wasn't going, then he wasn't going, and if they'd forgotten to invite his husband it was safe for everyone that he didn't. He wasn't above blowing up some smaller unstaffed storage areas of the complex in retaliation for hurting Lance's feelings by forgetting him. His husband was the most gentle and loving person known to mankind when he wasn't being a dick, and although they'd agreed that they'd spend the next deca-phoeb transitioning jobs, Keith didn't want to go back to work and leave his husband to wake up alone. Waking up with Lance was special. The times he woke before his husband even more so as it allowed him time to study his husband without being self-conscious. He loved the way Lance's eyelashes were stupidly long, and the way his lips would twitch then form a smile when Keith would whisper how much he loved him. He loved that Lance felt secure and safe enough to remain sleeping in his hold, trusting him to keep him safe. He loved the way Lance's collarbone would peek out from under their blankets... He was stupidly in love with Lance, and with their impending separation, he loved all these small moments even more. His husband might not be perfect to everyone else, but to him, he was his everything.

With Veronica and Acxa doing the chores, they were allowed the luxury of sleeping in on New Year's Eve. They'd stayed up the previous night playing card games, where Lance had shown he was amazing when it came to basic card tricks and sleight of hand. Rachel, Marco, Lance and Veronica had all been. There was some kind of sibling rivalry at play where they took particular delight in destroying each other, so Keith, Tobias, Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor had formed a team against them. Tobias dealing the crushing blow that had taken Veronica out of the game. For a man who he'd never really interacted with, it was refreshing to see Tobias opening up to them. He'd been so sure the man was an Altean in disguise, yet it seemed like Tobias simply enjoyed the antics of Lance's team and remained because of that. Next to fall to him was Lance, then Marco and Rachel had ganged up against them. It all came to a draw when Rachel spilt her drink, in a move Keith was sure was deliberate, all over the kitchen table. Calling it a night there, they realised it was already well into the early hours of the morning. Waking a little after 9, Lance slept through until 9:30, his husband nosing at his chest until Keith finally paid attention to him. Spending the next half hour sharing small kisses and checking their comms, Lance sent him off to shower first. They'd stopped showering together for the moment, due to Keith accidentally picking up on Lance's discomfort through his scent. He loved the physical intimacy of touching Lance as they showered, but it wasn't what kept him in the relationship. He didn't need the physical stuff. His heart belonged to Lance and that was all he needed to know. When he'd returned from showering he found Lance had been busy. A bag packed and sitting by the edge of their bed. Board shorts, a black singlet, cap and sunnies and sunscreen sat on his side of their bed. He knew going to the beach had been on the plans, except he thought it would be later. Kissing him on the cheek Lance disappeared to shower, returning wearing a long sleeve rashy and boardies. His gloves didn't look quite so weird against the dark blue and black of rash shirt... though Keith was sure that someone was bound to point out that people didn't usually wear gloves to the beach. In an act of silent support, Keith donned his fingerless gloves. It was only by some miracle that they'd survived as long as they had, though with his constant want to touch Lance skin to skin, they hadn't been warm a lot lately.

Grouping at the house, the next problem was that Deahra, Zethrid and Ezor all needed swimwear. Zak was refusing to leave the Telula since he was on a roll with his coding, while Lucteal had borrowed a pair of board shorts and a shirt from Lance, and Tobias was gifted the same in an old set of Luis's. Not being a girl, Keith didn't understand why the girls couldn't borrow a swimsuit or two from Veronica and Rachel. Daehra seemed to be around the same dimensions as Rachel, though she always had most of her body covered... Rachel, however, was already in a pink bikini with short white shorts. Then again, he wasn't sure he wanted to share any of his underwear... maybe with Lance? If they were clean then what was the problem?... but girl's bodies did other things, and Acxa was wearing one of Veronica's bikinis under a see-through cotton dress, matching her girlfriend... Did that make it a couple thing? Or did the others simply want their own swimsuits? Girls would always be a mystery to him... Keith continued to mull through the problem, even as Miriam refused to let them out the house without applying sunscreen, leaving him forced to endure Marco squirting far too much on his pale skin. He couldn't help having fair skin, and in his defence, Zak was the palest of all of them, but without the man there his argument only drew laughter from Lance who was allowed to go ahead and load up the old truck because he'd had the foresight to apply it. There'd be no exaggeration to say that Keith had a few choice words he wanted to say to his husband about not prewarning them in the safety of their bedroom. When they finally got out of the house, Rachel declared she was taking the others shopping so Lance needed to drop them off first, and that they didn't need to worry about paying because Miriam had given her money for the swimsuits. Being Lance, he scolded his sister, then promptly made them all wait while he transferred GAC over into his sister's account and took the cash she had on her, muttering something about how Rachel couldn't be trusted not to blow it all at once or to not waste their families money. 

Keith already knew Lance was sending GAC home to support the farm, with Christmas and now New Years, it hurt to think that maybe Lance's family were in financial trouble with all the presents they'd gifted this year. Miriam's gift to him had been a black jacket Lance had told his mother to buy him and a copy of the photo the woman had taken where Lance was sleeping on him in the living room, placed in a nice gold coloured frame. He'd also found that his own photo had made it up on the family wall of photographs, in addition to photos of their teams from Christmas. The half-Galra had to give the woman credit, she worked fast. He didn't even know she'd gone out, let alone gone out, had the photos printed, then framed and hung all within the last week. Even Krolia had made it up onto the family wall. After years of neglect and abuse, Keith was scared by how welcome and how fast he'd been accepted into Lance's family. He was terrified that one day all of this would be ripped from him, that one day Lance would grow tired of him... What would happen to their photos then? He didn't want to be bounced to another home. Another family. He didn't want Shiro to be stuck picking up the pieces. Lance had shown him so much love that he didn't know how to go back to being "just Keith".

*  
Varadero Beach was breathtaking. Everyone seemed to have the same idea as towel after towel lay on the white sand. Knowing one of the bar owners close to the beach that also sold surfboards, Lance parked right up near the building, enjoying the way his husband stared out the windscreen. Leaving the keys in the ignition, Lance climbed out the old family truck, walking the few steps over to the backdoor of the bar and sticking his head in   
"Ernesto! You in?"

Ernesto was Lisa's uncle's brother's something or other. The older man had pretty much watched them all grow up down on the beach. As far as Lance knew he'd never seen the man outside of his precious bar. His marriage had failed and he'd never had children, doting on him and his siblings as they'd come up to annoy him by traipsing sand all over the front decking. Smiling as Ernesto groaned, the man was wiping his hands as he walked into the backroom  
"I heard you were back"  
The annoyance in his voice was all an act. Many an hour had been spent here after losing Allura. The man didn't have the heart to kick him out as he drank his pain away  
"Yep. Had to drop in and give you the heads up. We took your staff parking bay"  
"What's to say I don't have staff that needs it?"  
Rolling his eyes, Ernesto was too stubborn in his ways for staff to last long, now he managed mostly alone  
"Because I know you saved it for me. Hey, I've got someone I want you to meet"  
"This that husband of yours?"  
Lance poked his tongue out   
"Possibly. I'll bring him up soon. Just wanted to give you the heads up that we've come to terrorise you"  
"You could have done so at the bar"  
"I was scared you'd deny me service"  
"Estupido. Get out of here and bring him in properly. That sister of yours better not be here"  
"Which one? Veronica's back"  
"Dios help us. She's banned from the tequila. You make sure she knows"  
"Nope, that's your job!"  
Giving Ernesto a wave, Lance darted back out the door as the old man grumbled. Veronica had had a slightly misplaced youth. They'd snuck off with a bottle of tequila when they were kids, only for Veronica to throw up all over Ernesto's new board stock. The memory was comforting, and something she was yet to live down.

Smiling to himself Lance walked to the back to the truck where Marco was passing out their gear. Taking his old board from his brother, he didn't know Marco had bothered packing it. He didn't feel like surfing. He wanted to lay in the sun and watch everyone else making fools of himself   
"What did the old man say?"  
"V's still banned"  
Getting smacked in the back of the head by his sister's flying towel, Lance snorted. She and Acxa could have gone with the others. Nothing was stopping them  
"Don't go telling everyone that!"  
"Blame Ernesto. Nothing gets by him"  
"You've thrown up here far more times than I have!"  
"Ahhh, but sister, I didn't throw up on his new boards"  
"No, you just threw up everywhere else"

Carrying the picnic basket his mother had packed, Keith wore a deep frown as he came to his side  
"Something I should know?"  
If Keith really thought it through, two and two would eventually equal four  
"Nope. You already know enough. Anyway, Ernesto wants to meet this famous husband of mine. We'll meet you guys down there"  
"Slacker!"  
"Don't blame me because everyone wants a piece of this"  
Shooting Marco finger guns, his brother flipped him off  
"Keith's the only one who'd ever want a piece of that. Keith, bro, you do know that you are wasted on our brother"  
Nudging him with his shoulder, Keith's expression softened. Lance blushing slightly   
"I don't know about that. He has his moments..."  
"When you figure out what they are, let us know. We've been trying to figure them out for years"  
"He's great in bed..."  
Marco dropped the surfboard he'd been picking up, while Lance choked on his embarrassing squeak  
"...He sleeps like the dead. He's great to cuddle into. He's not as much of blanket hog as you'd think. You two are both as bad as each other"  
"We just got played by your husband, didn't we?"  
Lance nodded up at Marco, Marco sighing   
"Fine. Go on already. I want to get down to the water and wash those mental images of my little brother having sex from my mind. No one wants to see that... Keith..."  
Shaking his head at Keith, Marco picked the surfboard back up. The fact that Keith had rendered Marco silent was kind of a miracle.

Leaving the board and the picnic basket by the front steps up to the deck area, Lance pulled Keith along with him. Above them the fans of the bar turned lazily, rocking almost ominously from how long they'd been hanging. Ignoring the tourists staring at the pair of them, Lance was just about to step into the darkened interior of the bar when Keith yanked him back  
"Babe?"  
"You used to come here to forget Allura, didn't you?"  
"Yeah... after Red left it was like the whole world tilted left and I had no idea what to do. You know, half this place was destroyed when the Galra attacked. Instead of building a new bar, Ernesto went about patching it all up so everything looked exactly how it used to. It was a shame these fans survived. They used to scare the quiznak out of me when I was a kid. Marco told me if I was too loud it'd fall on my head"  
"Babe... are you sure it's alright? I mean..."  
What did that even mean? Allura wasn't going to be sitting right there, waiting to disapprove of their whole relationship or steal him away from Keith  
"You're overthinking things. Yeah. I was in a bad place when I used to come down here, but Ernesto never turned me away. He probably should have kicked my drunk arse to the curb"  
"I don't know. It feels weird"  
Because his anxieties hadn't been annoying enough over the last week  
"Don't go saying things like that. He told me to bring you 'round front. Now, that means walking through this doorway and a massive 6 steps to the bar"  
"Ok..."

Smiling at the two beers sitting on the bar, and the creak of the wood under their feet, Ernesto gave Keith the once over as Lance walked right over to his waiting beer. Sliding up onto the barstool, he waited for his slower husband to catch up  
"Is there something wrong with him?"  
Narrowly avoiding snorting beer out his nose on his first sip, Lance shook his head. If Ernesto wanted to meet Keith, then Lance was simply there for the ride  
"There must be. He looked just as he does on the television"  
"Uh. Hi, I'm Keith"  
Extending his hand towards Ernesto, Ernesto raised his eyebrow as he took Keith's hand in his. Lance could almost see his internal laughter. No one shook hands with Ernesto, or at least no one around here did  
"Ernesto. I expect that husband of yours told you as much"  
"Yeah. He said you... were there for him"  
"He damn near paid for half the rebuild on this place. Gotta take care of my best customer"  
Being socially awkward, Keith's scent shifted to match his unsurety  
"It was more like buying the bar top. Keith's awkward, but he's a pretty funny drunk. As for throwing up on a surfboard, he's never surfed before in his life"  
"What kind of man have you brought home?"  
"The good kind"  
"I suppose you're going to be teaching him then? Be sure to let me know, I could use the laugh"  
Shaking his head, Lance wasn't even sure he was getting in the water yet  
"Marco"

Letting out a hearty laugh, Ernesto leaned heavily on the dark wood bar  
"Bah. He's goofy footed and you know it"  
"True. But Keith has to learn how to paddle first. You can't run without walking"  
"There's some good breaks out there. ' suppose I'll be seeing you out there?"  
"Beer and swimming? It's almost like you want to see me drown"  
"There's worse ways to go. You boys staying for the bonfire?"  
"Ernesto, please. Like I'm going to miss that. Keith's got plans though. He's off to the Garrison"

Scrunching up his face, Lance was pretty much done with the Garrison. He'd had enough of them when they'd first returned, and they'd definitely had enough of him. They'd invited him to their new year's party, and he'd promptly tossed the invite in the bin. They already considered the MFE pilots better than the Paladins, so he didn't see what he had to offer them. Plus, when they'd asked him to talk to the Garrison students all they'd wanted was for him to promote the Garrison and not Allura's wish for peace.

"Ah, I see. Make sure you keep an eye on him, with skin like that"  
Making an exploding motion with his hand, Ernesto explained it with a "whoosh"  
"Mami made sure he's sunscreened up. She and papi said they'll be down about sunset"  
"In time for the barbecue... we'll I wanted to meet this husband of yours. Can't believe our little Lance is all grown up and married. He used to talk about you an awful lot. How much he admired you. How he was never worthy of representing Cuba as a Paladin. Keith, you hurt him and I'll turn you into you taquitos"  
"I don't intend to hurt him"  
"No one ever does. Take your beers and enjoy the sun"  
"Thank you..."

Leaving Ernesto's bar, Keith kept glancing back over his shoulder as they collected the surfboard and the picnic basket from where it'd been left. He knew Ernesto had rubbed Keith up the wrong way, but he couldn't always smooth things out for his husband. Cuba was loud and fun, but what made it that way was the people you knew, with the location coming a distant second. If Keith wanted to fit in, he needed to let himself be knocked around a little his rough edges were worn away. That wasn't to say he would tolerate anyone insulting his husband. If Ernesto had done something horribly insulting, Lance was sure he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from throwing his beer in the man's face. No. All Ernesto had been doing was testing the waters in his own way. Keith needed to work that out on his own. Leading his husband over to where Veronica and Acxa were setting up the second of three huge beach umbrellas, Lance stood his surfboard in the sand with a smile   
"See, you guys totally didn't need us"

Snatching the beer from his hand, Veronica rolled her eyes  
"Right. That's why most of its still packed. Now it's my turn to enjoy this beer, while you unpack"  
If his sister thought she was getting away with snagging his beer, she had another thing coming   
"Are you sure you want to drink from that? You don't know where my mouth's been"  
Raising her eyebrow, Veronica bit back   
"You don't know where mines been..."  
"When's the last time you sucked dick?"  
Wrinkling her nose, Lance grabbed his beer back from his sister   
"I don't need to think about that!"  
Shrugging, Lance took the victory  
"I know. My mouth is perfectly safe, but I don't know if I've picked up any weird space diseases. Gotta be careful when it comes to the woman who keeps the Atlas running"  
"I'm not that bad"  
"V. You're my sister and I love you, but you are totally that bad. Keith and I will set up the last umbrella. Shiro's going to pick him up about 5"  
"I know dummy. I was supposed to go too"  
"But you stayed for Acxa. It's so romantic..."  
Stomping on his foot, Lance yelped as he jumped back from his sister   
"Rude! I was saying it's nice you're spending it with Acxa..."  
"I don't need dating tips from someone who got married by accident"  
"You should try it. Plus, it was a "union" ceremony. Sheesh. If you're going to mock our wedding, at least get the name right. Come on, babe. Let's get set up. Then Marco can start teaching you all about surfing"  
"Has Keith even said he wants to learn how to surf?"  
Keith hadn't. Lance was pretty sure he didn't want to try. But with the board there, if he said Keith was going to learn, then he didn't have to explain why didn't want to get into the water  
"That's between Keith and the water. It's not every day you get personal lessons for free"  
"I don't see you volunteering to teach him"  
"I'm drinking and watching. My afternoon is fully booked with all the relaxing I'm intending to do"

Setting their umbrella and towels up away from the rest of the family, Lance smoothed out the invisible wrinkles before finally dropping down and flopping back with a satisfied sigh. With much more grace, Keith sat beside him, his hand brushing Lance's fringe back as he leaned in to steal a kiss. Poking his tongue out at his husband, Keith kissed the tip of it. Lance spluttering as he propped himself up  
"That's not playing fair"  
"Neither is dobbing me in for surf lessons"  
Oops...  
"Well... there's a perfectly good board right here"  
"Lance, I grew up in the desert, how do you expect me to surf?"  
Discarding the whole purpose for laying on a towel, Keith shifted to lay between them so he could wrap his arm around his waist and rest his chin on Lance's chest. Dios... Keith looked like an angel with the glow of the sun behind him   
"Are you scared?"  
"Pffft. No. It's just a bit of water"  
"Then what's the problem? You've got good enough reflexes, you'll be fine"  
"But you don't want to go in the water, and I want to spend the day with you"

Lance's heart gave a funny beat. He was touched that Keith was thinking of him, but he was also frustrated with himself for it wanting to get in the water. The two seizures out of nowhere had scared him, and what was to say he wouldn't have yet another one in the water. He'd rather not drown to death and prove his uselessness to everyone on the beach  
"The day's not over yet..."  
"Babe... I can't read your mind, only your expression. Is it the fear of water? Because I'm happy to stay with you, like on the Atlas?"  
Reaching up, Lance ran his fingers through Keith's hair. His husband nuzzling into his hair with a smile   
"We shagged on the Atlas... and its... I need to work up to it, ok?"  
"Ok, but do I really need to learn how to surf?"  
"Yep. You'll like it. I don't know how to explain the rush, but it's like... flying on water"  
"Until a shark comes out of nowhere and eats you"  
Snorting at Keith, Lance was sure if a shark did try to mess with his husband, the shark would come off second best  
"The beach wasn't even open for swimming last time I was here. Too much debris and leaky stuff... you should enjoy it while there's a beach here to enjoy. Besides, we've already lost Kosmo and we've only been here like 15 minutes. Shouldn't you be chasing him down?"  
Keith sighed, trying to scowl and fail  
"You're not getting off that easily"  
"We'll see how the day goes. Now I have a beer and some tanning to do"  
"And what about me? What am I supposed to do while you're doing all this relaxing?"  
They had a whole beach, and Keith didn't know what to do. The outdoors was wasted on his husband. Absolutely wasted   
"You could, you know, learn how to relax with me? Or take Marco up on the surfing lessons? Or play volleyball with the others? Or save people's picnics from a rampaging Kosmo? The opportunities are endless"  
"Don't go giving Kosmo ideas"  
"I don't give him ideas, he does that all for himself"  
"He's a menace"  
"A menace you love. I was so jealous when you came back with him. I only ever met things that wanted to kill me"  
Pouting at Keith, Keith stole another kiss  
"What about me? I'm part alien and I don't want to kill you"  
"But you're not a pet... you might like head pats and scratches... and taking all space in bed... wait a tick..."

Slapping his stomach with his hand, Keith's smile was still dazzling. Sliding his arms up, he wrestled his husband over to he was laying along top him properly  
"Fine. The next space wolf I find, they're all yours"  
"Ours. You just said Kosmo was mine too. Do you think he likes cats? Should we bring him home a friend?"  
"I think Kosmo and cat would only lead to chaos"  
"I was thinking of bringing a couple of chickens out to the outpost, but I have no idea how chickens would go in space"  
For some reason, Lance's mind went to chickens with space helmets on. He liked to think that was why Keith laughed too  
"Let's not take chickens into space... what else do you want for the outpost? I've been thinking we need to plan this out"  
"I want you... and... yep. That's all I've got"  
"Babe... I need..."

Keith and Lance both screeched as cold water hit their faces. Staring down at them, Marco was grinning. Lance's heart was racing, the inside of his cheek bitten so hard he tasted blood   
"Right you two, time to cool off"  
Growling at him, Keith looked pissed  
"What the hell, Marco!? We weren't even doing anything"  
"Nothing yet. Come on, Keith. Veronica says she's going to teach Acxa, and I'm not coming second best to her teaching methods. She's betting 500 GAC that you'll wipe out. So up and at 'em. My baby bro's still going to be here when we're done"  
"Can't I just pay you 500 GAC to leave us alone?"  
"Not when my personal pride is on the line"  
Clutching at Lance, Keith held on tight as Marco grabbed him by the back of the shirt  
"Lance, save me!"

Lance's heart was still beating. uncomfortably fast as he tried to recover from the shock of the cold water. That was probably why Keith was holding onto him. Pushing up against his husband, Keith's hold came undone. Pulling off him, Marco slapped his hand against the middle of Keith's back, propelling him away from their towels. Looking back over his shoulder, Keith huffed  
"Traitor"  
"I'm sorry, babe, but I would pay 500 GAC to watch you wipe out. Marco, be careful with my husband"  
Shooting them the double thumbs-up, Keith mumbled under his breath over Lance's lack of support. Marco talking over him  
"He's going to be pro by the time in done with him. V might have beat me at most things in life, but the joke's on her. I have no life. I can spend as many hours as I want surfing!"  
"Sure. Sure. You love your life. Make sure he doesn't get too damaged. I'd hate to send Krolia after you"  
Marco doubled over as he laughed   
"I don't think I'd mind that... No offence Keith, but your mum is hot"  
"She's also taken by the joint leader of Daibazaal. A trained assassin. And could snap you in half without breaking a sweat"  
Delivering his final blow with pinpoint decision, Marco paled  
"On second thoughts, I'll take good care of him"  
"That's all I ask"


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's heeeeeeeeeere... And I've also started Caramel Skin Under A Purple Rain!!! 
> 
> I want to thank all of you who stuck around for the epilogue... Next step is time to expand the family... Lance and Keith with his heat... nom nom nom... But, of course, you're going to have to brave Purple Rain...

Keith was not a natural-born surfer. It blew Lance's mind that his husband could be such a goofy-footed idiot, especially with all of his training. Acxa wasn't that great, better than Keith, yet wiped out before he did much to Marco's happiness. The pain in Lance's soul nearly had him running down the beach to teach Keith what he was doing wrong. Keith couldn't quite seem to get the popup just right. At first, he was jumping up too early, then too late. His form when standing was... shaky at best. Trying not to cause Keith more stress, and trying not to bring on a seizure, Lance was having a hard time wrangling in his conflicting emotions. He wanted Keith to enjoy himself. Yet, at this rate, he knew his husband was more likely to lose his temper due to frustration and give up completely instead of discovering how fun surfing could be. His indecisions had him nearly in tears. There was a time he would have welcomed the soothing expanse of blue before him. He would have run into the water like he didn't have a care in the world... but that had been taken away from him... He'd started to take back things for himself, but when you have your head held down into sink full of water until you passed out, or have water poured down your throat mercilessly, it dampens the appeal of surrounding yourself in it. Showers were fine because the water disappeared down the drain. Baths he could do with Keith, because he could trust Keith not to let him drown... but taking that first step into an endless bottomless blue... goosebumps erupted across his skin at the mere thought.

Watching Keith wipe out again, Lance didn't realise anything was wrong for the first tick... or the second... his old board washed up on the beach on the third tick, then on the fourth he realised Keith hadn't come up. Marco was talking with Veronica and Acxa, the group laughing as Lance jumped to his feet. The fifth and sixth tick passed with no sign of Keith. Lance's heart was racing a million miles an hour as he bolted towards the water. Keith could swim. Keith could swim... there was no way... but what if his husband had hit debris on the bottom of the ocean floor, or what if he'd been barrelled? Racing past the group, he threw himself into the water, almost oblivious to the feel as he dived forward once deep enough.

Swimming out to where Keith had been, Lance couldn't see him. Trying to dive under the wave breaking in front of him, he was swept into the turbulent current below, the salt and sand stinging at his eyes as his breath was forced from his body. Forced back, he was at the mercy of the wave, coming up nearly a full half-minute later though it felt as if he'd been trapped for so much longer. Diving down again, he desperately swam as he searched for Keith, nearly yelling his husband's name underwater as his movements became less coordinated, and he was swept up into a second undercurrent. It was perfect surfing weather for someone experienced, who could hold their breath and remain calmer than the average novice... Watching from the beach, no one would think of the undercurrents. Panicking as he was barrelled hard enough to find the one rock in the whole area with his head, he came up in the swash, finding Keith lying face down a few metres further down from him. 

"Keith!"  
Pushing his hair back as he ran to his husband, Lance screamed his name as he finally reached Keith's side. Shaking his shoulder, his husband gave a weak cough, sandy water forced up into his mouth through his parted lips. Wrapping an arm around his husband, his scream had attracted Marco who rushed to take Keith's other side, helping to lift Keith up onto his feet where he gave a weak grown. Looking over Keith's hung head, Marco's expression was one of confusion and fear  
"What happened!?"  
"Fucking leash snapped and he got barrelled. Saw the board wash up"  
"Fuck..."  
"He's breathing. Probably swallowed half the fucking ocean, or at least feels that way. Help me get him up to our towels. I need to examine him"  
"'m fine... what happened?"  
Keith's words weren't slurred, but that meant nothing when Lance was already close to tears  
"You got barrelled, babe. You're probably feeling a bit disorientated"  
"Sand in my mouth..."  
"That happens. I'll help you get cleaned up when we get back to the towels... I'm so sorry..."

Keith didn't reply to his apology. Reaching their towels, Marco helped sit Keith down while Lance went into fuss mode. His first action was dumping the contents of one of the water bottles all over Keith's sandy face, Keith growling his dislike   
"I know. I'm a horrible husband. I need to check your face and hair. Put your head down for me"  
Feeling Keith's hair and scalp for wounds, he came up empty. Tilting his head back to check his face, he breathed a sigh of relief   
"He hasn't hit his head on anything buried out there"  
"I could have told you that..."  
Dragging his teeth over his tongue, Keith tried to spit out the sand in his mouth. Holding his hand out, another bottle of water appeared from nowhere. Bringing it to Keith's lips, his husband blinked at him  
"Take a big mouthful, then rinse and spit. I've been barrelled before, you probably feel like you swallowed half the water and sand out there"  
Nodding, Keith did as he was told, rinsing and spitting twice before wiping at his leaking nose. If there was one thing salt water was good for, it was clearing sinuses  
"Babe. I know it sounds stupid, but can you tell me who you are?"  
"Keith"  
"Good. And who am I?"  
"Lance"  
"And where are we?"  
"Varadero beach"  
"Awesome. I don't think you hit your head, but just to be sure, we're going to chill here for a bit. Marco, don't let Acxa back out. The undercurrents too much"  
"Are you sure?"  
Keith had very nearly died. He wanted to hit his brother for doubting his judgment, but at the same time, Marco hadn't been barrelled yet, so had no clue   
"Yeah. Remember that time I split my leg open on that rock, and papi had to save me? Then you were all telling me I nearly drowned? So you went out and got barrelled just as bad... it's about that bad"  
"Ahhh. Not beginner level. Alright. You heard the man, ladies. Paddling staying close to the shore is fine, no surfing. This is a private show, time to start moving on"

Herding away the small crowd that seen what happened, Lucteal and Tobias stayed behind. Crouching down on Keith's other side, Lucteal's lips did a funny twitch like he wanted to say something but didn't know how to. Knowing him, Lucteal probably wanted to help but didn't want to cross Keith   
"Lucteal, can you grab the blanket out the basket? Tobias, can you grab the board from the edge of the water. I'll have to buy a new lead for her"  
"I didn't mean to break your board"  
Keith sounded like a small child as Lance moved to pull the velcro of the strap undone. It'd dug in a little, but the skin seemed fine   
"You didn't break my board"  
"The leash..."  
With how unhappy Keith scent was turning, Lance felt like a horrible husband for sending Keith out without checking the leash. He'd assumed Marco had when he'd waxed the boards   
"Surfers literally break leads all the time. She's an old board too, but she's in one piece"  
"I'll replace it"  
"Babe, it's fine. Here, use some of the water to wash your eyes out"  
His own eyes didn't feel great. The adrenaline of what happened was wearing away now that he had Keith safely on land. Wrapping the blanket around Keith's shoulders, his husband shivered visibly   
"Thanks, Lucteal... He should be ok now. I'll monitor him for the next varga. If the girls can't surf, they might want to play a game of volleyball... or get something to eat..."

Lucteal went with him on his hinting   
"I think I shall try walking in your water"  
"It's nice. Cooler than I thought it'd be. I have no idea what Rachel and the others could be up. They should have been back by now. Oh... you can take Kosmo with you, here's a ball you throw for him. Just throw it out into the water and he'll bring it back"  
"You human enjoy throwing balls for no reason?"  
"It's not for no reason, plus, it makes Kosmo happy because he gets head pats when he brings the ball back"  
"Then I think I'll try. He was chasing your birds along the beach"  
"They're called gulls, or seagulls. They give as good as they get"  
"Very well. Keep an eye on him... he may be an eyesore, but he does have some redeeming qualities"

Keeping quiet until Lucteal left with Kosmo's ball, Keith snorted and wipes the snot on his towel  
"I must look awful if Lucteal was worried"  
That was the final straw. Throwing his arms around Keith, Keith seemed stunned for a moment before returning the embrace  
"I'm sorry..."  
"You scared the quiznak out of me. When you didn't come up again... I thought you were dead"  
Nuzzling into Keith's neck, Lance didn't care if he was getting snot and tears on Keith's shoulder   
"I didn't expect to be barrelled"  
"No one expects to be barrelled! You're a goddamn warrior... you're supposed to be able to swim!"  
"I don't think those two are mutually exclusive. I don't even remember coming off the board again"  
"Idiot... stupid idiot... are you really alright? Did you hurt yourself?"  
"The only thing wounded is my pride"  
"That's alright then... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I forced you to go with Marco..."  
"Babe"  
"I should have stepped in sooner..."  
"Babe..."  
"I saw you weren't quite getting it but I was so scared of the water... you could have..."  
"Lance, babe. Hey. I'm ok. Other than the sand"  
"I used to love surfing... I wanted you to love it too..."  
He was behaving pathetically. Crying against Keith when it'd been Keith who nearly drowned   
"Shhh... shh... I'm ok. You came running in to rescue me"  
"I got fucking barrelled twice... some rescue party I am"  
"Babe, you do realise you went running right into that water the moment you thought I was in danger..."  
Oh... that's right... he had  
"I was terrified... it's not even a big barrel but even the most experienced swimmers can get taken by them..."  
"That's not a big barrel? I felt like what I always imagined being in a washing machine would be like"  
Hiccuping out a snort, Lance hugged Keith tighter   
"You're an idiot... promise me you're not hiding anything. You didn't hit your head on that rock or anything?"  
"There was a rock? All I got was water and sand"  
Pulling back just enough, Lance pushed his lips to his husband's. Keith was alright. He was safe. He was safe and shaking, but he was in one piece. Indulging the kiss, the both grimaced at the sand in their saliva, Lance breaking the kiss to wipe at his lips  
"Thanks. You know how to make a man feel special"  
Keith was wiping his own lips as he spoke, smiling like he hadn't taken years off Lance's life   
"It's not my fault. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to eat sand?"  
"Nope"  
"They should have. I need to know if you start feeling sick. You probably swallowed a lot of water, which would have found its way into your lungs..."  
"Babe, I promise I feel ok"  
"Keith, this is serious. Please... please just give me this?"  
Staring at him with startling sincerity, Keith nodded  
"Alright... hey, you're bleeding"  
Wincing as his husband's hand came up to the small scratch on the side of his forehead, Lance swatted Keith's hand away   
"It's a scratch. With the water and the fact that head wounds always bleed too much, it probably looks worse than it is"  
"What kind of an idiot hits his head while trying to save someone?"  
"This kind of an idiot, who had to save his goofy-footed husband"  
"What do you mean I was goofy-footed? I was doing what Marco said"  
"Marco was wrong... I never should have trusted him to teach you"  
"You think you can do a better job?"

Getting off his knees, Lance shifted to sit beside Keith, wrapping his arm around his waist to hold him possessively close as they both stared out at the swell  
"I think I could. I could probably ride the whole way in... it's pretty low-level stuff"  
Nudging at him, Keith feigned offence   
"Ouch, babe. Thanks for that"  
"It's like two steps above beginner and one below intermediate"  
"Where do you sit?"  
"A couple of steps below pro. You're lucky there's no really big breaks today. I wouldn't have let you out at all if there was"  
Watching the next wave crash, the build of the one behind it would have been a pretty decent wave to catch   
"Will you show me? How it's done?"  
"After you got barrelled? I think I'm going to stay right here and keep an eye on you"  
Taking his left hand, Keith interlaced their fingers   
"I want to see it. What kind of an expression you make. I don't have any memories of you surfing..."  
"That's because I was so full of... everything I shouldn't have been when Allura died and Red left. I was only coping because of Red. And the beach was kind of closed..."  
"Babe..."  
They both knew he hadn't surfed since before they'd been blasted into space in Blue   
"I don't know if I can"  
"You've faced so many fears... and you've smashed down all the obstacles in your way"  
Lance hung his head, shame filling his tone   
"What if I have another seizure? It scares the quiznak out of me worrying about one hitting..."  
"If you have a seizure or come off, I'm going to come running in like you did for me. It'd take everyone on the beach to hold me back. I think... I think this is something you should do for you. You always loved the water"  
"I did... until they..."  
Lance shuddered at the memory  
"They're dead. The dead can't come back. But you're still alive and have plenty of living to do"  
"When did you become so wise?"  
"Maybe being barrelled knocked some of those brain cells free?"  
Lance shot Keith a glare, who'd snorted over his own joke  
"It's too soon to joke, babe"  
Nodding, Keith leaned into him   
"Alright... think about it. I still want to see you show me how it's done"

When Keith didn't get worse over the next hour, Lance finally let himself lower his guard. The second half of the hour had been Keith complaining he was fine, insisting they could join the others. Now that Luis and Lisa had arrived with the kids, Nadia and Sylvio were insisting they were too old to build sandcastles, but when Rachel finally arrived with the others, it'd devolved into a competition over who could build the biggest and best. Having built theirs wrong, Zethrid and Ezor were being lectured by Nadia on the finer points of sandcastle construction. Marco had given up his own pathetic construction effort in favour of teaming up Daehra. Not bothering to participate, Acxa and Veronica had abandoned their group to go swimming... though it was more like making out rather than swimming. The two of them giggling and laughing between kisses. Lance found it equal parts creepy, because V was such a hard arse when on duty, and cute because she and Acxa were very clearly over the moon with each other. He was happy for both of them. Maybe if they got married, Acxa could stand as joint commander on the Atlas. They'd be a force to be reckoned with, yet it'd be cute to see them wearing matching outfits. Deciding he was calling his sister "cute" far too much, he kissed Keith's shoulder  
"Do you really want to see me surf?"  
Keith took a long tick to reply, his husband kissing his hair   
"Only if you don't mind?"  
"I'll need to use Marco's board... I don't really want everyone making a fuss"  
"I promise to stab anyone who makes a fuss..."  
"Babe, you can't make promises like that... I know how seriously you take promises"  
"Fine... at least let me bash them around a little with my blade?"  
"I don't think you're supposed to bash your family up"  
"You're my family... I want to... you know... look after you"  
Tilting his head up, Keith's lips found his. The kiss soft and full of love   
"You do. You do so much... You're the love of my life, babe. And tomorrow is the start of our first year as a married couple... and then next year, we'll come back and do this all over again... and again... until we're all old and wrinkly"  
Keith nodded, kissing him slightly deeper until lingering sand ruined the moment as it fell into Lance's eyes. Wiping at his eyes, he cursed himself for misplacing his sunglasses in his rush to rescue Keith   
"I'd like that... this, you, us, all our friends and family. I'd like that... maybe Shiro and Curtis can stay next year?"  
"Hell yeah. Usually, we spend more time in the marquee than we did this year. But next year won't be so bad because they all met you this year... and you'll be able to meet everyone properly... and I won't... my head won't be so messed up, right?"  
"You're not messed up. You're strong and you're a survivor... I might need some of your courage if we're meeting even more members of your family"

Forcing himself to sit up, Lance was only making his eyes hurt more in the pursuit for sand  
"You've been in the same marquee as them. Next year we can do all the really fun stuff, like the cooking"  
Tugging his hands away from his eyes, Keith wiped at the corners of his watering eyes  
"Full confession. I can't cook that well"  
"That's why you have me to teach you. I mean, I'm no Hunk and honestly cooking and feeding myself haven't been my number one priority because it feels like too much work, but I can boil water without burning it"  
"Nooo way. How many more of these secret talents do you have?"  
"I'm flexible... and I can shoot stuff"  
"I think I've snagged the perfect man"  
"I'm the lucky one... right, I'm going to do this..."  
"I know you are, babe. Once you make your mind up, you're an unstoppable stubborn idiot"  
Laughing at Keith's soft words, he kissed his husband again. It was all because of Keith that he felt "unstoppable"... and maybe a bit like an idiot... but that was completely Keith's fault, not his in the slightest. After all, Keith surrounded him in so much love that more than a few brain cells had died in the shock of it all.

*  
Parties were not Keith's idea of a good time. Not that he'd been much better on the at the beach. He felt somewhat foolish for having been left so disoriented from simply being barrelled. He'd been a quiznakking Paladin. He led his own Blade team... Yet he'd been defeated by waves at the damn beach. Worse of all was how upset Lance had been. He loathed making Lance cry. He loathed causing him pain... but he'd nearly got himself drowned trying to surf... and found he didn't enjoy surfing at all. He enjoyed watching Lance surfing. His husband had been a little shaky at first, simply sitting on the board and letting the waves pass. Keith had thought he was going to have to swim out and tow him back in... Then something changed in Lance. He swung up to lay atop the board, checking over his shoulder. Keith didn't need to see his face to know Lance had become super focused. In a manner of moments, Keith was whooping like an idiot as his husband caught his first wave of the day... he may have also gone running into the waves to meet Lance once he finally fell off the board in the shallows... Lance coming up like a drowned rat with a dorky smile on his face. It was nothing at all like the serious surf pose he'd been pulling. Keith wasn't sure he'd learned anything about surfing from Marco when he realised he didn't know how to compliment or how to tell Lance how hot he'd looked out there. Instead, he accepted a tackling hug from his husband, both of them very nearly taken out by the surfboard in Lance's enthusiasm.

After surfing came lunch, Miriam had completely over catered, everyone eating far too much, the settling down to spend the next hour or so sleeping it off. The afternoon was spent losing horrifically at volleyball with Lance the only one of their team who knew what was going on. Plus, Veronica's team had cheated. With Ezor on Zethrid's shoulders, it became impossible to get the ball over the net, no matter how many tricky saves they managed to play. All too soon Shiro was landing his pod on the beach, and Keith forced to say his goodbyes. He loved his brother, but leaving for a party where Lance wasn't involved wasn't the same. Plus, he felt on the outside of Curtis's family. He'd met them all when Shiro had been engaged to Adam, but they'd never gone out of their way to make him feel like he belonged there. Most probably because he didn't. He was simply there because Shiro had taken him in. Nonetheless, he tried his hardest. He liked to think he channelled Lance as he politely asked them how they were and how their Christmas celebrations had gone, without honestly caring about the answer. All he could think was that he'd left his husband behind. He should have been back in Cuba, where more than two people appreciated his existence, not stuck smiling so fakely that his face hurt.

By the time 8 pm rolled around, Keith had eyed off the variety of pods and hoverbikes outside Curtis's sprawling family home. The half-Galra had forgotten that Adam had come from money, which meant that as his younger brother Curtis also came from money. Their house was like something out of a magazine, not filled with love and warmth like Lance's. Lance... his precious husband who he should be with instead of standing all alone on the second-floor balcony overlooking the grounds and gardens. He could fly everything in the parking lot, but he'd be spotted the moment he tried to leave. The suit Shiro had forced him in to was only growing more uncomfortable by the minute. He'd showered on the flight over, yet beads of sweat were now rolling down the middle of his back from the humidity of the night  
"Keith. It's time to leave"

Having lost track of Shiro, Keith nearly dropped his empty champagne glass at the sound of his brother's voice. Part of him was tempted to see who it'd land on if he did. Leaving the empty glass balanced on the white railing, he shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned to face Shiro. The smile he expected to see on Shiro's face wasn't there, instead, his brother looked concerned   
"You don't look too happy. Thinking about Lance?"  
Nodding, the itch to steal a pod was only growing. He didn't belong here. Not in a place where he felt like something scraped off the bottom of someone's shoes   
"I feel like this was all a bad idea... I don't even have my comms on me. What if something's happened? Cuba's in a different time zone, isn't it? Is it already New Years there?"  
"They're three hours ahead... we've been here for the last 5 hours"  
5 hours... no wonder he felt so incredibly exhausted. It was if each and every moment of it had dragged on for a decade. He had enough of a time handling 24 hours in a day, let alone 27. So if it was 8 now, that only left an hour until the clock ticked over to New Years in Cuba...  
"You're not coming to the Garrison, are you?"  
Keith shook his head  
"I... I can't Shiro. He's my husband. I don't want to welcome in the New Year without him. I don't care that he said it was alright... I want to be back on the beach in Cuba... Counting down with Mami and Jorge... and our teams... I want to go back to my family..."

Holding his arms out, Keith rushed to hug Shiro. His older brother kissing his forehead  
"I'm so proud of you, kiddo. Let's get you back to Lance"  
"You're not mad?"  
"No. I had no idea today's party would be so formal. Curtis said it'd be more of a low key get together. I've spent the last half hour looking for you to ask if you wanted to head to the Garrison early"  
Keith sighed softly  
"It doesn't feel right without him... I feel like I've abandoned him after he made so much progress today. I got barrelled trying to surf, and he went right in to find me. Then he went surfing..."  
Above him, Shiro sounded confused  
"Lance has always loved water"  
"They... when he was tortured, they repeatedly tried to drown him... On the Atlas was the first time in over half a deca-phoeb Lance had been in a body of water bigger than a bathtub... but today... you should have seen him. He was so proud of himself. I know if you ask him he says the abuse carried on for only three movements... but I keep thinking about the space dilation out there... I keep thinking they had him for so much longer... he's come so far"  
"You both have. I'm so very proud of both of you. Let's get you home to your husband"  
A happy shiver ran up Keith's spine at Shiro openly calling Lance his husband. He was coming home... back to Lance. Where he should have been all along  
"What about the Garrison?"  
"I can be an hour or two late... I'm sure the others can handle it"  
"I meant... about my absence"  
"Let's face facts, without Lance there you'd most probably find the best corner to hide in and drink the night away, maybe talking to Pidge and Hunk, but most likely brooding over missing Lance"  
"He was the Red Paladin. No one there gives him the respect he deserves"  
"I heard he basically told the Garrison to go jump then cut contact..."  
Pushing off Shiro, Keith could imagine it. Lance flipping the double bird as he flew away. He hoped at the time his husband had looked smug as fuck when he'd done it. He didn't need the Garrison, the Garrison needed them. It didn't matter that Pidge, Hunk and Shiro were the only ones on their payroll. If ties with the Paladins were fractured, the Garrison's popularity would slump. They'd lose trust all over the place, and be alone before they knew it  
"That's my man..."  
Shiro crossed his arms, shooting him a very "dad" look  
"You're not supposed to be encouraging such behaviour. I was told he'd been spending too much time with you by Iverson"  
"You half-blind one guy by accident and they never let you forget it. From what Lance has told me over how Iverson treated him, he's lucky that things are in the past. Did you know he spent all his training being constantly told he was second best and was only there because I dropped out? That's why Lance never felt worthy of being a Paladin... I get you need to be tough with new recruits... but I can't say that Iverson didn't deserve whatever Lance said, and more"  
Moving to raise his hands in surrender, Shiro nodded  
"You don't need to tell me, I understand. Now, am I going to have to throw you over my shoulder so we make it out the building, or are we going to continue plotting against the Garrison?"  
Keith was one hundred per cent sure that Shiro shouldn't be agreeing so fast, even as a joke. He sincerely regretted what he'd done to Iverson as he looked back at the event now, but Shiro was giving him a joking out and he was taking it   
"Can we plot while we fly?"  
"Of course we can"  
"Then let's get out of here"

*  
Like cockroaches, tourists had flooded onto Varadero beach now the sun was done. Loud music was pumping from a makeshift stage set up, where some kind of party was happening. Unable to drop him directly on the beach, Shiro had dropped him in the parking lot at the back of Ernesto's, Keith had twenty minutes to find his husband, according to the onboard clock in Shiro's pod... which was coincidentally named Shiro... His older brother not helping the situation by counting down every damn minute during the flight.

Running down the beach, Lance's family weren't where he'd left them. He found Rachel and Veronica doing shots, with Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor... but they weren't who he was looking for. Checking near the bonfire, he found the rest of Lance's family... without Lance or his team... or Kosmo. He might have slightly looked insane as he ran back across the beach, still wearing dress shoes and his suit. No one else was wearing suits... most people seemed to be in barely anything... including more than one person who was literally naked and being escorted off the beach by the police. With all the people on the beach, they could literally be anywhere. Lance could have gone home for all he knew... No. The truck was in the parking lot still... he had to be here somewhere... If he wasn't with his family... then... Ernesto's? Would he know? Would he tell him, if he did?

Racing back up to Ernesto's, Keith kicked sand all the front steps, half toeing and half kicking his stupid dress shoes off. All they'd done was fill with sand, and made his socks feel disgusting. Running into the bar, Keith came to a hard stop at the counter, scaring the closest customer in the process, half arsing an apology, he didn't have time for people who didn't matter  
"Ernesto, have you seen Lance?!"

Raising an eyebrow at Keith's half yelled question, the man wandered down from the other end of the bar  
"What's it to you? Didn't you have some fancy party to be at?"  
Keith shook his head quickly  
"None of that matters. I never should have listened to him and gone in the first place. Do you know where he is?"  
Reminding himself he couldn't simply shake the answer out the man, he gripped the counter to counteract the urge   
"He took little Juana home so Luis and Lisa could enjoy the night"  
The farm... he'd never make it to the farm in time... Wait. Home for Juana wasn't the farm  
"Home? Or their home? The townhouse?"  
"The townhouse..."  
"How do I get there from here?"  
"You're..."  
"Ernesto, how do I get to the townhouse? I'm not leaving my husband to start the new year without me"  
Pulling a napkin out, and taking the pen from his pocket, Ernesto sketched out a map  
"Go left when you get out the car park, follow the map"  
Snatching the napkin from the bar top, he could have kissed the man  
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"  
Ernesto let out a laugh as Keith ran back towards the doors he'd come through. He wasn't sure how long he had left, only that he was going to do everything he could to make it in time.

Following the map, Keith realised too late that he hadn't asked Ernesto just how many blocks he was supposed to go before turning. It was almost laughable how easy it was to get lost in the maze of narrow walkways and streets, everyone he ran into was in too higher spirits to help. Growing more and more frustrated, he didn't know what to do. Surely new year was about to hit. With no other choice, and too determined to give up, he pushed on, yelling Lance's name as he ran, and cursing whoever built the city without thinking of those who lacked a keen sense of direction. Running up the closest set of steps, he tripped spectacularly, losing his precious map and skinning the heels of his palms as he did. Unwanted tears began to well in his eyes. He never should have left Lance. Pushing himself up, he realised he'd also skinned his left knee, hobble limping as he looked around. He didn't recognise the houses... He didn't know where he was... it seemed like a back alley. Warm lights and laughter drifting from the windows above him, as if to mock his failed attempts to find his husband   
"Lance!? Lance, can you hear me?!"  
Shivering as the wind seemed to slap him right in the face, he hobbled on towards where the line of houses broke. The walkway so thin that his shoulders brushed against both sides as he started to sniffle. He was a damn soldier... something small like being lost shouldn't have him this upset. Then again, he knew he was lying to himself. He was miserable. Cold. Lost. Hurt. Alone... All he wanted was Lance.

Sliding past an overflowing rubbish bin, the street he emerged into looked vaguely familiar. But then again, they all kind of looked the same after a while  
"Lance!"  
In the distance, someone yelled at him to "fuck off". Something he'd happily do once he found his husband   
"Lance! Kosmo!"  
Limping harder, he wiped at his teary face with his aching hands. He should have left his damn gloves on  
"Lance?! Babe, where are you!?"  
He was so lost...  
"Lance!?"

"Keith?!"  
Three doors down from the house he'd half hobbled past, the open front door spilled light out, casting Lance as a black shadow in the already dark night. Somewhere people started counting down, Keith picking up his pace to a limping run, desperate to make it to his husband in time   
"Lance!"  
Jogging to meet him, Lance threw his arms around him as their lips clashed. The kiss painfully toothy, as the night sky erupted into colour. The first firework of new year bathing the world green and gold. 

Deepening the kiss into something more pleasurable, he found he wasn't the only with wet cheeks as he moved his hands up to cup his husband's face. As the kiss slowly turned to another, he melted against his husband, letting Lance take most of his weight. He didn't want to wish in the new year with everyone else. He didn't want to spend it at some rich persons party when he looked like a trained ape. He wanted to spend it, and every single other New Year's Day with the man he loved.

Breaking the kiss, they both sniffled. Lance first to speak  
"I thought you were at the Garrison"  
"I was supposed to be... but I've been miserable since I left. It didn't feel right not being with you. Not welcoming the new year in together... not celebrating without my husband"  
Resting his forehead against Keith's, Keith might have had the few inches in Lance which he knew drove his husband crazy, but with all his weight and his knee throbbing like crazy, he was happy to let Lance have the advantage   
"I missed you... I told myself not to message anyone. I told myself that I was ok with being alone... I'm so fucking happy you came"  
"Me too, babe. I love you"  
"I love you too... I love you, Keith. I don't know what this year is going to be like, but I'm going to keep working on getting better... I'm going to keep working on it. And I'll stop taking the really really dangerous missions... so that... so that this time next year... things would have settled down..."  
"And I'll be working on phasing out of the more difficult missions. I don't know how great I'll be... but I hate it when you cry. I hate it when I make you cry... I can't promise I'll always be the best husband you could ask for, but I promise as long as we're both alive, you're my number one priority"  
"You're mine too... I love you so quiznakking much..."  
"I love you too, baby"  
Nuzzling into his face, Lance pulled back as he sniffled particularly hard  
"Keith, why do I smell blood? What happened?"  
Looking him up and down, Keith was now grateful it was dark and his husband couldn't see what he'd done to himself   
"I tripped..."

Before Keith knew what had happened, Lance had literally swept him up off his feet and was walking back towards the open door he'd appeared from. Unlike him, Lance didn't have the Galra strength boost, but didn't actually seem to need it  
"I can walk, you know"  
"Nope"  
"Babe, it's a graze"  
"Don't "babe" me, why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
"Because this was the first chance I got?"  
"You should have told me when I threw myself at you"  
"I was too busy kissing the man I love"

Carried into the living room, Lance sat him down on the coffee table. Daehra and Lucteal were both asleep on the sofa. Lance had covered the pair with a blanket, the siblings looking kind of cute as Lucteal was curled into Daehra's side  
"Yeah. They tried to make it. Lucteal barely held on five minutes after Daehra fell asleep. Let me get the door then I'll grab the first aid kit. Where have you hurt yourself?"  
Keith bit his lip, feeling slightly foolish  
"Hands and my knee"  
Raising an eyebrow at him, the Cuban had no shame   
"You mean I could have had you out of those pants even sooner? Damn"  
Groaning and blushing lightly, Keith covered his face   
"If it's your knee, it's probably better I clean you up in the bathroom. Can you make it upstairs?"  
"It's just a graze"  
"Don't get your Galra panties in a knot. I'm your husband. I'm allowed to be worried and occasionally overreact. Plus, it'd be a crime against humanity to let those legs of yours be hurt"  
"For someone who was crying, you certainly seem in a good mood now"  
Walking over to wait at the foot of the stairs, Lance smiled softly in his direction, extending his hand towards him as he did  
"I prayed to God that the man of my dreams would magically show up, and you did"  
What the quiznak was he supposed to say to that? Blushing harder, Keith climbed up off the coffee table to limp over to Lance. Taking his hand, his husband kissed the back of it. Keith's heart couldn't take it. It hadn't even been a year for them. Not with the time dilation fields. The whole Lance doing a runner thing. The stays in the pods... yet when Lance held his hand, he couldn't remember how it felt not to have his husband's love and support. Moving his hand down, Lance wrapped his arm around his waist, then trapped Keith's hand against his stomach lightly with his own  
"You'd be lost without me, wouldn't you?"  
Nodding, Keith thought for a moment of making a joke, but the moment wasn't right. He was too emotionally raw from being lost and cold  
"I would be. You have no idea"  
"Then it's a good thing I don't plan on going anywhere you can't follow"  
"I'll always follow you. Until the very end"  
Using the advantage of stepping up a step before him, Lance kissed him on the top of the head as he turned to look back at him  
"Good. Because no matter where I go, I always want to end up by your side, Samurai. You and me, neck and neck forever"  
"Yeah, babe. Not even Zarkon coming back from his grave could stop me from being with you"  
Nodding with a smile so warm that Lance literally could have done absolutely anything and Keith would have accepted it in that moment, his husband tugged him upwards. Being who they were, they couldn't simply do things the normal way around... Lance still had so far to go, but for Keith, he'd never stop falling harder in love with the most amazing man in the whole universe. He'd do absolutely everything he could to protect Lance. To protect his husband. His home. And his family... which, who knows, might one day consist of more than him and Lance... The future held all sorts of unknown things that both excited him and scared him... but with Lance by his side, he knew that no matter what happened, he'd never be left to walk alone again.


End file.
